MarketsFarm — With very little in terms of major new developments from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, grain prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) for the week ended Tuesday were devoid of the volatility seen in previous weeks.
The May corn contract traded at each side of the $7.50 per bushel mark during the week and the May soybean contract traded between $16.40-$17.20/bushel (all figures US$). After coming down from a high of $13.6350 on March 8, the May Chicago wheat contract traded within $10.30 and $11.70/bushel during the past week.
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While the prices for those contracts remain elevated, they have traded relatively steady compared to the price rises seen last month.
“We’re already very high-priced and… we haven’t heard news about progress (in Ukraine) or anything like that,” said Jack Scoville, vice president of The Price Futures Group in Chicago. “It should keep prices really strong.”
With little change on the horizon to the situation in Ukraine, the focus for buyers has shifted to weather. While good weather for Brazil’s safrinha corn crop has put pressure on prices, dry conditions in Argentina have reduced the country’s soybean crop and increased demand for soybeans from the United States.
“Our sales are at a record level for this time of the year,” Scoville added.
Meanwhile, rain and snow fell on wheat-growing regions in the U.S. earlier in the week, but drought conditions are expected to persist.
“The dry weather here in the U.S. is certainly a supportive factor (for wheat prices),” Scoville said. However, he added that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will keep prices high.
“I don’t know of anything that can push these prices down.”
— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.
