MarketsFarm — The April world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture didn’t hold much sway over corn on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) on Thursday.
Corn ending stocks for the U.S. were pegged at 53.15 million tonnes, about five million tonnes higher than the previous month’s report. However, prices were steady on the day, finishing up by about a cent at US$3.31 per bushel.
Corn to be used for ethanol had been expected to be around 5.425 million bushels in March, but that was lowered to 5.05 million bushels.
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That’s mainly because bearish influences on the market due to COVID-19 are “already in the market right now,” said Scott Capinegro of Barrington Commodities in Barrington, Ill.
“Corn is feeling stabilized this week.”
Prices aren’t expected to turn bullish anytime soon, though, as large ethanol stocks have been weighing on corn values.
“Corn isn’t going to go anywhere until we get planes in the air and people driving again,” Capinegro said.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia agreed to cut oil production by 10 million tonnes. Talks of the meeting rallied crude oil futures off of previous lows. According to one delegate, Saudi Arabia and Russia will each lower their daily output to approximately 8.5 million barrels per day. Market participants expect ethanol to benefit from the rally.
Brazilian local currency has gained strength relative to the U.S. dollar, which has also provided some support to U.S. exports.
“Our corn is pretty much the cheapest corn in the world,” he said, noting that recent export data has been supportive.
— Marlo Glass reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.
