Corn and soybean futures gave back most of the previous day’s gains on Thursday, while wheat managed a higher close.
Corn fell on profit taking in anticipation of the Trump Administration potentially levying tariffs against Canada and Mexico this weekend. Farmer selling following yesterday's gains added to the downside in corn. The USDA’s weekly export sales report this morning showed bookings of US corn for the week ended Jan. 23 at 1.35 million tonnes, falling in the middle of trade expectations. March corn lost 6 ¾ cents to $4.90 ¼, and December was down 2 ½ cents at $4.64 ¼.
Soybeans were also pressured by potential tariffs, along with disappointing weekly export sales. The USDA reported bookings of American beans for the week ended Jan. 23 at just over 438,000 tonnes, versus trade guesses that ranged from 450,000 to 1.7 million tonnes. It marked a nearly 71% fall in export sales from a week earlier and a three-week low. March beans dropped 16 ½ cents to $10.44, and November fell a dime to $10.53 ½.
Higher European prices and declining offers out of Russia supported wheat futures. Weekly export sales of 1.35 million tonnes fell in the middle of pre-report trade expectations. March Chicago gained 4 cents to $5.66 ½, March Kansas City added 8 cents to $5.88 ¼, and March Minneapolis was up 6 ½ cents at $6.20 ¼.
