Wheat more than expected

Wheat markets continued to get crushed this week as harvest sped along into northern Kansas. Farmer selling picked up and pressured cash markets despite lower quality and disappointing yields in some regions.

USDA issued its plantings report, raising wheat plantings by 1.5 million acres over their previous estimate, which cast another negative shadow over the complex. Despite serious planting delays, corn had a similar report with an acreage estimate a whopping 3 million acres above trade expectations, and thus came under heavy liquidation.

The soy complex was mixed again, with beans and meal higher on extremely tight supplies of old crop stocks, while bean oil stayed weak on plentiful supplies as crushers need soymeal and the bean oil is the other byproduct. Good growing conditions in the Midwest continue to keep production prospects high for those acres that are actually seeded. Some market analysts believe that corn acreage will be lowered and soybean acreage increased as the farmer survey was done before it got too late for corn planting.

The cattle complex was much stronger on a surge of buying in expectation that beef demand will be strong through the July 4 holiday and that feed cattle supplies will be tight during the month of August when beef demand tends to increase. Feeder cattle found strength on the weaker corn market and on slightly improving cash auction markets.

Energies were unchanged for the week, with a choppy price action in a narrow range.