By Kirk Maltais
--Soybeans for January delivery fell 0.9% to $14.53 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, in response to indications that China's reversal of Covid-19 lockdown policies would be a slow process.
--Corn for December delivery fell 0.8% to $6.75 1/2 a bushel.
--Wheat for December delivery was virtually unchanged at $8.49 3/4 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Slow and Steady: The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese leaders are considering a full re-opening of the country but are proceeding slowly and have no set timeline. "It does seem like when China does officially re-open, whenever that is, it will be a very good time for commodities -- but until you get confirmation from Xi himself the waiting is a hard game," said Richard Buttenshaw of Marex in a note.
Elevated Rate: Export inspections for U.S. soybeans were again, mostly due to shipping to China. In its latest grain export inspections report, the USDA said export inspections of soybeans totaled 2.59 million metric tons for the week ended Thursday. That's slightly higher than the tonnage reported by the USDA in the previous week's report. China was again the leading destination for U.S. soybeans, receiving 1.84 million tons for the week. Other leading buyers include Mexico, Japan and Taiwan. Corn inspections fell back from the previous week, totaling 231,458 tons. Wheat inspections inched higher, climbing to 180,991 tons.
INSIGHTS
Guarded Stance: This week's data releases by the U.S. government look to be enough to keep CBOT grain futures making unpredictable moves, said Tomm Pfitzenmaier of Summit Commodity Brokerage in a note. Mr. Pfitzenmaier said that Wednesday's WASDE report, the release of October's consumer-price index and the midterm elections will likely cause traders to change their course of action.
Crossover Effect: A looming rail strike, which could come later this month without a new deal, is introducing worries of surging prices for fertilizer, the Fertilizer Institute said in a letter addressed to Congressional leaders. The group pressed Congress to settle the dispute when it reconvenes Nov. 14. "A rail strike would be devastating to fertilizer manufacturing and to fertilizer distribution to the farmers," said TFI President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch in a press statement. With supply chain issues seen in the trucking and river freight segments, a rail stoppage would be quickly felt in the economy, the group said. The latest assessment from research firm DTN shows fertilizer prices have been coming off of highs reached earlier this year but remain elevated.
Building Interest: Open interest in commodities futures have risen to their highest level in 10 weeks, said JP Morgan's global commodities research unit in a note. Price gains across energy, agriculture and metals futures supported the rise in open interest, JPM said. Across the board, most categories of commodities gained from the previous week, with the exception of livestock, bulk commodities, and environmental markets as a whole. Agricultural markets found a five-month high in open interest, although the current level of $297 billion is still below where those futures started the year.
AHEAD
--The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
--The USDA will release its monthly world supply and demand report at noon ET Wednesday.
--Beyond Meat Inc. will release its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-07-22 1522ET
