By MATT PIKE
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GENERAL COMMENTS:
September corn closed down 4 3/4 cents per bushel at $4.03 3/4 and December corn was down 5 1/2 cents at $4.22 1/4. November soybeans closed down 9 3/4 cents at $10.26 0/1 and September soybeans were down 10 1/2 cents at $10.10 1/2. September KC wheat closed down 3 1/4 cents at $5.25 3/4, September Chicago wheat was down 4 cents at $5.42 1/4 and September Minneapolis wheat was down 9 cents at $5.86 1/2.
The September U.S. Dollar Index is trading down 0.633 at 97.565. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 214.75 points at 44,556.94. August gold is up $49.70 at $3,408.00, September silver is up $0.88 at $39.34 and September copper is up $0.0380 at $5.6425. September crude oil is down $0.16 at $65.89, September heating oil is up $0.0457, September RBOB is down $0.0220 and August natural gas is down $0.254.
CORN:
Corn futures slid lower Monday after weekend rains hit some key growing areas in the western and central Corn Belt. Good rain fell in Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and even into dry northern Indiana. The forecast ahead keeps the active weather pattern in place for the next 10 days. Yes, there is a warm-up coming with some hot temperatures, especially in the western belt and into the southern corn areas. However, on Monday's crop progress report, traders are expecting another bump in condition ratings, with corn good to excellent ratings already at a stellar 74% last week. There appear to be few areas that are facing soil moisture issues, with corn areas impacted by some form of drought falling to just 7% now. Corn inspections were again decent and remain 29% above a year ago, with the USDA calling for just a 22% rise. In Brazil, major producing state, Mato Grosso, is now 77% harvested. Also adding to pressure is a beneficial forecast for Mexico's corn area for August, and even though they are the number one customer for U.S. corn, it appears that the Mexican corn crop is headed higher. Even with that in mind, Mexico is slated to import close to 24 mmt of corn in 2025-26. Managed money funds last week covered 20,000 contracts of their short, but as of last Tuesday, they were still net short close to 160,000 contracts. DTN's National Corn Index is $3.96 and 13 cents under the September futures.
SOYBEANS:
November soybean futures fell hard Monday, pressured by good weekend weather, the prospect of more rain and early weakness in soy product markets. Also pressuring beans is concern over the impending August 1 deadline for tariffs. Soybean oil, after reaching a new high on Friday, reversed to trade lower early before recovering to finish higher. Palm oil fell 2% on Monday, pressuring bean oil early. Spot August soybean meal, after touching the 20-day moving average Friday for the first time since mid-June, quickly sold off from that level Monday. Good weekend rain in Nebraska and the "I" states, along with storms in the northern Plains, pressured markets, as did the 10-day forecast. Despite a warm-up in temperatures to 3 to 5 degrees above average in late July, early August, soy conditions are expected to get a bit better in Monday's crop progress report. Meanwhile, China continues to load up on Brazilian beans with June soy imports from Brazil rising to 10.6 mmt, 87% higher than a year ago. China imported just 1.6 mmt in June from the U.S. Soybean traders will keep an eye on the forecast, which has some extremely hot temperatures in the southern areas, but right now, it appears that soybeans are still on pace for record or near-record yields. August weather will likely have something to say about that. Managed funds added to a small net short last week, while increasing their bean oil long and remaining net short 125,000 contracts of meal. DTN's National Soybean Index is $9.85 and 50 under the November futures.
WHEAT: