Morning Market Direction:  Corn up 1; Beans up 3-4

The corn and soybeans are attempting a mild rebound following yesterday’s sell-off. A dismal weekly export sales report on Thursday showed net-cancellations for soybeans, sending bean futures to a 3-week low. Coors Light has declared today as a “tribute to US farmers day” to capture lost market share by Budweiser. Following yesterday’s collapse in the grain market, I think many farmers are willing to partake. For the week, wheat futures are 10-13 cents weaker; soybeans are down 7 cents, and; corn futures are up a penny.

Informa released their updated US acreage expectations for the 2019/20 crop year. They peg the 2019 corn plantings at 91.591 mln acres, up slightly from their January estimate of 91.504 mln acres. They peg the soybean prospective plantings at 86.044 mln acres, down slightly from their Jan estimate of 86.204 mln acres.

President Xi Jinping announced that trade talks in Beijing this week have been going well and will continue next week in Washington. He also stated he hopes the two countries will reach a mutually beneficial deal in the upcoming negotiations. Lighthizer and Mnuchin said they maintain hope although there is still much work to be done, and that they are willing to work with China to reach a mutually beneficial deal for both countries.

The weather outlook for Brazil remains mostly favorable with moderate rains expected for most growing regions through the end of next week. Argentina’s weather remains mostly dry through early next week with moderate rainfall arriving by the middle of next week. Next week’s rain event looks wetter than previous runs.

NOPA crush data will be released this morning with traders anticipating crush to come in at 169.575 mln bushels which compares to 163.111 million bushels processed in the same month a year ago; Dec was 171.759 mln. Bu.

Summary Items:
Corn and beans attempting a mild recovery following sharp losses on Thursday.
NOPA January soy crush report to be released today at 11:00 AM cst.
Dismal export sales sent bean futures to a 3-week low on Thursday.

Corn - $3.96 Spring    

Beans - $10.16 Spring