TOP STORIES:
Corn Falls as Funds Liquidate Sizable Long Positions
Corn for May delivery fell 1.7% to $5.38 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Monday as fund ook the opportunity to sell their long positions.
Grain futures are lower with the primary driver being managed money funds liquidating long positions, said AgResource. According to the firm, an estimated 10,500 contracts of corn were sold by funds as of mid-day, while 5,400 contracts of wheat and 2,200 contracts of soybeans were also sold. On Friday, the CFTC said for the week ending Feb. 23, fund long positions in soybeans grew nearly 10,000 contracts to nearly 160,000 contracts. Meanwhile, positions on corn stayed largely long at 345,000 contracts.
USDA Looks to Bolster Farm Incomes -- Market Talk
1225 ET - Nearly 90% of US farmers report that their primary income does not come from their farm, says Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack during a virtual interview with the National Farmers Union-- something the USDA hopes to address in the course of the Biden administration. "If we're going to turn things around... we're going to have to work so farmers don't make money just off of the sale of commodities," says Vilsack. Other potential revenue streams that the agency wants to make available to farmers includes carbon sequestration and investing in new technology to monetize waste products like manure. "This is going to be a very proactive USDA," says Vilsack. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
STORIES OF INTEREST:
StoneX Forecasts Higher Brazil Soybean Crop, Lower Corn -- Market Talk
0947 ET - Estimates released by StoneX over the weekend show a larger than previously-expected soybean crop in Brazil, while figures for the corn crop continue to shrink. The firm pegs Brazilian soybeans at 133.48M metric tons, up from 132.77M tons last month. Meanwhile, its outlook for corn is down to 108.5M tons from 110.22M tons the previous month. "The soybean crop size is growing modestly, while the corn crop is slowly getting smaller due to adverse weather," says Arlan Suderman of StoneX. "This week's weather outlook remains quite wet in Brazil's northern belt, while continuing to lean warm and dry in Argentina." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
Brazil Soybean Harvest Picks Up Speed But Still Lags Last Year -- Market Talk
0724 ET - Brazilian farmers had harvested 25% of the area planted with soybeans as of Feb. 25, a jump of 10 percentage points from a week earlier but still behind the 40% harvested on the same date a year ago, according to agricultural consultancy AgRural. The crop became ready for harvesting in more areas over the previous week, speeding harvesting work, AgRural said. But the 25% figure was still the lowest for the date since the 2010-2011 growing season, and farmers were held back from harvesting more by February rains, according to the consultancy. AgRural last week raised its forecast for soybean production for the current crop year to a record 133 million metric tons, from its previous forecast of 131.7 million tons. (jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com)
THE MARKETS:
Hog Futures Put Brakes on Skid -- Market Talk
1507 ET - After dropping during the last two sessions, lean hog futures on the CME finished higher Monday - with the most-active contract up 0.7% to 87.725 cents per pound. Improvements to macro conditions driving the wider equity markets helped lift hogs today. "Fundamentals remain bullish in the hogs due to very strong pork demand and what many believe are going to be a drop off in hog slaughter numbers as we move into the spring," says independent trader Dan Norcini. "Pork demand will pick up seasonally as the warmer weather returns across the country while export markets for pork remain robust." Meanwhile, live cattle futures finished down 0.9% to $1.18975 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-01-21 1734ET
