Market Report: Corn and Beans Lower

Corn closed 1-2 cents lower today. Export sales were announced by the USDA at 823,500 MT of corn. That was well above the highest trade guess, plus export commitments are 88 percent the of USDA export projection for the whole year. Traders are talking about slightly decreased demand for corn because of the bird flu. You can't really argue with that because it continues to spread, and has been confirmed in Steele County. The point is we do not know how bad it will get before it is brought under control. One of the largest bearish factors is good planting weather.

Beans closed down 9-12 cents a bushel. Beans had a good export sales number at 433,400 MT compared to the trade guess of 250,000 MT. Total export sales are 101 percent of the USDA forecast for the entire year. The bean marketing year ends Sept. 30. One would think that the USDA will increase the bean export projection forecast and decrease carryout in the May USDA Supply Demand Report.