Coronavirus Update Our priority is to keep our employees and customers healthy and safe at all times. Because of this our office will be closed to the public until further notice. We also ask that the drivers stay in their truck or tractor while unloading grain in the elevator.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Brad
Friday Afternoon Comments-Jan 22nd The corn market was sharply lower today with CH down 23 ¾ cents and CK tumbling 23 ¼ cents. CZ lost 18 ½ cents as corn failed to post a weekly gain for the first time in six weeks. Heavy selling by commodity funds, estimated at 34,000 corn contracts as of midday, drove prices sharply lower. Some of the selling was linked to margin calls related to this week’s sell-off. Today’s price decline left CH 31 cents lower for this holiday shortened trading week with CK losing 31 ¾ cents. Improving weather in South America, has also weighed on corn (and soybean) futures this week. Talk of rising Covid 19 cases in a number of countries has heightened worry about a global economic recovery. A story late yesterday that a new strain of African swine flu has infected hogs at one of China’s largest pork producer was a negative factor in today’s trade. This morning’s export sales report showed another week of strong sales with 2020/21 corn sales of 57 million bu. Marketing year to date sales have now topped 1.8 billion bu. and have reached 72% of the USDA projection. The friendly sales report was all but ignored by traders. The weekly ethanol production and inventory numbers were considered neutral as production was slightly higher and inventories slightly lower compared to a year ago. Ethanol production last week was 10% less than the second week of 2020.
Soybeans suffered their biggest single day loss in over six months as SH tumbled 58 ½ cents and SK sank 57 cents. Like corn, most of the soybean weakness was attributed to heavy selling by commodity funds, as they had sold an estimated 22,000 soybean contracts as of midday. This was the first week since late December that soybeans did not move higher. The news of the discovery of a new strain of African swine flu infecting about 1000 hogs at a Chinese farm added to today’s bearish tone. Traders ignored a friendly export sales report and a flash sales announcement of 136,000 MTs of 2020/21 U.S. soybeans to China. The weekly export sales report contained old crop soybean sales of 67 million bu. with new crop sales reported at 31 million bu. Total 2020/21 soybean export sales are now 2.108 billion bu. or 95% of the USDA marketing year projection. Unless some of these sales are eventually cancelled, it appears that the projection will need to be increased.
Stanford Grain Company
