Thursday March 20th, 2025

• Grains are mixed this morning.
  • Corn is trying to hang on, beans are slightly lower and wheat is falling.
• DOE total weekly fuel ethanol production rebounded, stocks were down about 3%.  Total ethanol demand increased this week, with implied usage nearing all-time highs.  
• President Trump’s proposed fees on China linked ships are impacting US ag exports.  The missive fees aim to boost domestic shipbuilding but they have created uncertainty for exports.  
• USDA’s China attaché office lowered its forecast for the country’s soybean imports by 2%.
  • Economic pressures are altering Chinese consumers to move from pork to a cheaper protein like seafood or chicken and slower growth.
• As expected, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged this month, adding support to the US dollar.  Uncertainty surrounding the economy has increased.  Two 25-basis point rate cuts are expected before the end of the year.  Members also updated their inflation projections for this year to 2.7%, up from December’s 2.5%.
• Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has agreed to a mutual halt to strikes on energy facilities.