Market Report: Corn and Beans Start the Week Lower

Corn was hit hard today, closing down about 7 cents. Wheat was really hit, closing down about 30 cents. That probably pulled corn down, too. Export Inspections were reported at 855,766 MT, which was down from last week at 1.039 MMT. This afternoon the USDA reported planting progress for corn at 2 percent compared to the average for this date of 5 percent. It is really wet in the southern corn belt, and looking at the forecast they likely won't get a lot of corn planted this week either. But it is early and the traders will not get too concerned just yet.

Soybeans held better than corn or wheat, closing only about 3 cents lower. Export Inspections were at 450,317 MT compared to 569,648 last week. However it was higher than the same week a year ago. I read on Pro Farmer that China imported 5.4 percent more soybeans in March than February and it is expected to increase even more in April. So far almost all of those soybeans came from the U.S., but this is the time of the year when China will begin to source most of the beans from South America.