By Carrie Muehling
BLOOMINGTON – Corn contracts continued to trade at or near contract lows to begin the month of June.
Some areas have received too much rain, but overall the crop is in good shape. Conditions over the next 60-90 days will be critical for this year’s crop. Corn conditions continue to be strong with 74 percent of the nation’s corn crop rated good to excellent this week by USDA. In Illinois, that number is even higher at 79 percent.
“Overall, the crop is in good shape here as we start the month of June and the markets are reflecting that,” said Brian Basting, economist with Advance Trading.
Basting said corn exports are steady for this time of year, but soybean exports have tailed off quite a bit due to competition from South America. There is not a lot of interest for new crop soybeans. There was a rebound in weekly ethanol production last week. USDA will update quarterly grain stocks, including feed residual usage, again on June 30.
Basting said the low prices are not yet encouraging a surge in demand.
“Over time, that will occur. We will see low prices cure low prices via increased usage and reduced production, but it’s probably premature to say that’s happening yet,” said Basting.
He said there was not much market reaction to the recent EPA announcement regarding the Renewable Fuels Standard as numbers were mostly in line with expectations.
Weather conditions both in the United States and worldwide will be important as the growing season progresses.
Carrie Muehling can be reached at carrie@wjbc.com.
