Chicago crop futures closed mainly lower on Monday with little fresh news to move prices.
Soybeans ended lower on the day, with the market remaining under pressure from generally good growing conditions for South American crops. Mostly wet weather is expected in Brazil this week, which is likely to slow planting in some locations, particularly the south. However, the overall planting pace is still ahead of last year and soil moisture will further increase. A stronger US dollar pressured as well. On the other side, the USDA this morning reported a private export sale of 134,000 tonnes of IS soybeans to China for 2024-25. January beans fell 4 ¼ cents to $9.85 ¼, and new-crop November lost 5 ¼ cents to $10.05 ½.
Corn was mixed, with the higher American dollar a negative factor for prices but strong demand, from both ethanol and the export side, a positive influence. January corn slipped a ½ cent to $4.32 ½, and December gained a ¼ cent to $4.31 ¾.
Wheat fell on dollar strength and expectations of big supplies out of Argentina and Australia. March Chicago wheat was down ¾ of a cent at $5.47 ¼, March Kansas City eased a ¼ cent to $5.40 ½, and March Minneapolis lost 4 cents to $5.87 ¾.
