Tag: corn markets

19 Nov 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: NOVEMBER 9 – 18

Corn has seen a good bounce since the Nov 9 USDA report and has traded relatively flat the past few days despite some intraday volatility. There was no specific market-moving news to  fuel this rally but tidbits here and there to help fuel  overall positive  sentiment. IHS Markit updated their acreage for 2022 planted acres estimate with corn coming in at 90.8 million acres, 2.5 million lower than 2020. Ethanol production stays hot as the weekly grind rose to 312 mbu, up 7 from the previous week and well ahead of the USDA estimate for the year. With increased input costs going into 2022, the decrease in acreage makes sense, as balance sheets will be tighter. As harvest nears the end, eyes turn to South American growing conditions for the months ahead.

Via Barchart

Soybeans, like corn, have seen a solid rally since the USDA report. Soybeans continued their rally on Thursday until the EPA announced they would release their renewable fuel mandates by the end of the week. As the Biden administration has not been much of an ally for the ag sector, the decline on the coming news makes sense. Soybeans had decent exports this week as buyers keep showing up in the market even as prices trek higher. Continued demand from exports will help support beans, and it will be interesting to see how many beans get stored and who took advantage of higher prices with forward pricing. We will see this play out in the cash & basis market come the spring, but we expect most farmers to store corn for now. IHS Markit estimated  the 2022 bean acreage to be 87.9 million acres, 700,000 acres less than 2020.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow struggled this week as earnings continue to come in, but market volatility seems to be expected with the holiday season coming up. The Fed can still raise rates this year, and the Biden administration has not yet announced their nominee to head the Fed (either keeping Powell or someone new).

Cotton

Cotton has had life in the $1.10+ range for a while now as demand overseas is high for U.S. cotton. Growers have seen mixed yields across the country but nothing too surprising to the market. Cotton demand does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon as the world still is coming out of the pandemic, and some countries still have major restrictions.

Podcast

For the past year, commodity prices have perpetually soared and continue to trend higher. We’re diving into the fertilizer forecast with a unique guest, Billy Dale Strader, a branch manager for Helena Agri-Enterprises in Russellville, KY., who is truly at the epicenter of the rising fertilizer prices.

Billy Dale planted his agriculture roots on his family-owned farm and has managed regional seed and chemical sales at Helena for the past decade. In this week’s pod, we tackle the big question for farmers and ultimately end-users — is the impact of higher-priced inputs, like seeds, chemicals, and fertilizer, on the supply and demand for the major U.S. crops? Listen or watch to find out!

 

U.S. Drought Monitor

The maps below show the U.S. drought monitor and the comparison to it from a week ago. The outlined areas in black are areas that the drought will have a dominant impact.

 

Via Barchart.com

29 Oct 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: OCTOBER 21 – 28

Corn has continued its rally as the bulls seem to have their mojo back following a time where they could have been uneasy. Despite the disappointing export report, corn was able to keep the momentum going Thursday. This week’s weather week will slow down harvest and could cause issues for what is remaining in the field. Higher basis has been seen across most of the country as a lack of available corn continues to put pressure on elevators while ethanol plants are running on great margins and can afford the basis. Going forward it will be interesting to watch how farmers manage the corn they store. Do they hold it until we see much higher prices? Will basis become so favorable it is hard to hold on to it while farmers are making payments for products for next year? These questions do not have any answers right now, and only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, input prices are going up and farmers know how valuable their crop is.

Via Barchart

Soybeans have had a good bounce from their low a couple of weeks ago, even if it is not as an inspiring rally as corn. Like corn, the weather will delay harvest and reduce yields in many areas that were off to a great first half. South American weather is generally good for the next week with Argentina receiving their best rains of the season so far. The weather over the coming weeks/next couple of months will be important to getting them off to a good start. Like corn, it will be interesting to see the number of beans stored vs. sold after harvest. As beans continue to struggle to find a pattern, we hope to see one develop in the coming weeks, hopefully, a good one.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow had another good week with one big down day followed by a bounce-back on Thursday. As Q3 earnings continue to roll in, it has been a mixed bag with large companies like Amazon and Apple falling post reporting.

Oats

The Oats market has been on a tear the last two months as Canada’s and the upper plains crop had a multitude of issues due to drought conditions. This has created a supply problem on top of already higher grain prices across the board this year.

Podcast

The Hedged Edge is back, and we’re jumping into the thick of the commodity markets with RCM’s own King of Cotton – Ron Lawson. Cotton prices have exploded since the COVID crash, rising more than 236% from the March 2020 lows. While prices have backed off from the October 8th high, cotton is one of the purest supply + demand-driven markets around the world and has caught fire along with the global inflation bug currently running rampant across many commodity markets.

 

U.S. Drought Monitor

The maps below show the U.S. drought monitor and the comparison to it from a week ago. The outlined areas in black are areas that the drought will have a dominant impact.

Via Barchart.com

22 Oct 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: OCTOBER 12 – 21

Corn has seen a good rally since the lows that came after the report. Due to the world energy values falling, corn is still well above where it was last week, despite the pullback on Thursday. Rain in the eastern corn belt that was expected to slow harvest coming up has turned a little drier but still present. The rains this week will further deteriorate the already poor-quality plants. The yields were coming in better than expected in some areas the first half of harvest, but we should expect them to be lower in the second half.. NOAA on Thursday released its outlook for a warmer winter in the U.S., which hit energy prices and could see them trend lower, which would not help corn, among other things. It is vital this time of year to start paying attention to South American weather, and right now, Argentina is off to a dry start.  Ethanol production continues to grow as margins remain above $1 per bushel, pushing plants to produce at top capacity. This week’s output was the 3rd largest ever and will be an important supporting factor for corn going forward.

Via Barchart

Soybeans have had a good rally since the report, like corn even with the pullback at the end of this week. World bean oil and veg oil markets saw a rally this week that helped pull soybeans up along with many of the same factors as corn. Weekly exports this week were 2x that of last week and the highest in 13 months, with China being the main buyer. According to the most recent USDA report, if we can get consistent demand from China moving forward, that should help soybeans despite the crop being bigger than initially thought. The chart is tough to look at, but the market did close above the 20 day moving average at one point this week. It will not get back to that level to end the week, but the double high of $12.49 ½ this week makes it look like that $12.50 range may be hard to break through unless we get more bullish news. All eyes will move to the 2022 contracts next week as we begin to look at options for stored beans.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow had another good week as we have seen a good October for the equities market. After a tough September, this is good to see money back in the markets as questions around tapering, inflation and other Fed issues remain. Supply chain woes continue to plague many industries and will probably only worsen with the coming holiday season.

Podcast

In this week’s podcast Simon Quilty, from Melbourne, Australia, and Jeff Malec join Jeff Eizenberg to discuss global meat markets. We get an overview of the global meat market: beef, poultry, and pork, the main players and their main concerns, including labor and shipping shortages being a critical problem. Simon talks about how he goes about hedging the various contracts providing risk management for the current disruption for in-demand meat products.

For additional information, read our blog “Weigh More Than You Wanted To Know About Meat” here: https://www.rcmalternatives.com/2021/10/weigh-more-than-you-wanted-to-know-about-meat-with-agritrends-simon-quilty/

U.S. Drought Monitor

The maps below show the U.S. drought monitor and the comparison to it from a week ago. The outlined areas in black are areas that the drought will have a dominant impact.

Via Barchart.com

12 Oct 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 30 – OCTOBER 12 USDA REPORT

Corn had been in neutral heading into the October 12th USDA yield report, seeing bearish numbers. The report raised yield to 176.5 bushels per acre, slightly higher than the report last month. U.S. ending stocks and world stocks were both raised while also raising exports, lowering feed and residual use. The somewhat disappointing yields in the eastern corn belt were offset by better-than-expected western corn belt/plains yields. Demand looked to be lowered due to the continued export issues out of New Orleans since the hurricane, and a record crop in China won’t require them to import as much. The season-average corn price received by producers was left unchanged at $5.45. A higher yield and supply is bearish news, but the numbers do not appear to have been bearish enough to where we will retest harvest lows anytime soon. The cash market will continue to give us an idea of how much corn is actually out there, along with private estimates as harvest rolls on.

Via Barchart                        Soybeans have  been struggling the last couple of months, and the previous two reports have not done them any favors. As you can see in the chart below, it has been tough sledding since early June for beans. The USDA raised yields to 51.5 bushels per acre, up from the September report. The feeling that the U.S. bean crop was getting bigger with the good late-season weather came to fruition in the report. World stocks were also revised higher, creating another bearish concern. Without demand from China or a problem in South America, there aren’t many bullish factors for beans. If either China demand or SA weather turn in favor of the U.S., we could see some support, but until then, there is not much helping the market.

Via Barchart

USDA Report

The report covers many areas of the agriculture landscape. If you would like to view the full report or look at something else not covered, here is the link.

Dow Jones

The Dow bounced back this week following the rough end of September. Congress agreed to pass a short-term agreement to keep the government funded until December. There was a small amount of worry in the markets as the deadline loomed, but the same concern will return in 2 months when they need to pass a long-term plan and a debt limit adjustment. Any bounce back after a significant drop is good to see to level everyone’s heads.

Podcast

Check out our recent podcast where we’ve brought on one of our real-life firefighters from RCM Ag – Jody Lawrence, along with Tim Andriesen from the CME Group to provide us with some inside baseball knowledge of the current state of agriculture markets. They discuss the real-world application of short-dated options to fight the recent blaze of volatility surrounding agriculture markets potentially.

https://rcmagservices.com/the-hedged-edge/

US Drought Monitor

The maps below show the U.S. drought monitor and the comparison to it from a week ago. The outlined areas in black are areas that the drought will have a dominant impact.

Via Barchart.com

27 Aug 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: AUGUST 19-26

Corn was unchanged on the week as slow news, a lack of major export announcements, and no major rain events crossed the area’s most in need. Additionally, most of the corn belt has seen above average temperatures this week keeping a bid under the market. The late season heat and hot nights are taking their toll on the crop but hopefully the heat will end soon according to some forecasts. This time of year, markets begin to look at multiple yield reports coming in from various independent groups – i.e the Pro Farmer Tour (results HERE). At first glance many in the industry feel the tour results are a bit high, but only time will tell.  Any big surprise exports or continued weather problems will be the bulls news while rain and yield reports will be the bears.

Via Barchart

Soybeans made small gains on the week as the same news moved beans that moved corn. China continues to be a buyer going on 2 weeks now which is supportive after their long silence. The market is reacting to these purchases as if they were expected and normal purchases. Regular and consistent purchases will need to continue for the market to remain supportive.  Any abrupt could see another slide heading into harvest before we have a better idea on yield. The rains that some think will help corn will also help beans as we head into September.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow gained on the week as what seemed to be investor weariness last week turned into buying opportunities. The events in Afghanistan weighed on the market Thursday with uncertainty about the US foreign relations going forward.  As of this morning, Friday 8/27/2021, the S&P and Nasdaq are making fresh all-time highs following the latest comments from the Federal Reserve where NO NEW policy changes were announced and supportive monetary measures will remain in place.

Afghanistan

The suicide bombing by an ISIS-K member Thursday in Kabul, that claimed the lives of dozens of Afghan citizens, along with a dozen US Service members, while injuring countless others, shook the world. The swiftness of the fall of Afghanistan’s army and government to the Taliban has put the US at the center of one of the biggest international situations in recent memory. Going forward the countries around Afghanistan will be important to keep an eye on for exporters to the middle east.

Podcast

Check out our recent podcast where we’ve brought on one of our real-life firefighters from RCM Ag – Jody Lawrence along with Tim Andriesen from the CME Group to provide us with some inside baseball knowledge of the current state of the agriculture markets and to discuss the real-world application of the use of short-dated options to potentially fight the current blaze of volatility surrounding agriculture markets.

https://rcmagservices.com/the-hedged-edge/

US Drought Monitor

The maps below show there was not much change over the week despite weekend rains in some areas that needed it and some drying in Indiana.

Via Barchart.com

23 Jul 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: JULY 15 – 22

Corn made small gains early in the week only to fall short heading into the weekend as weakness continues to creep into the market with poor exports continuing and weather uncertainty. The hottest temperatures of the year for the plains and western corn belt are expected in the next few days with the only relief possibly coming past the 7 day forecast. As bad as things seem in the western corn belt, the eastern corn belt is having great weather, but will it be enough to offset those loses?

Brazil’s crop continues to get smaller, despite the USDA not making any major outlook changes, as they experience more freezing temperatures on their corn crop. China continues to sit on the sideline with no big purchases as they wait for lower prices before buying US corn. We know they will need to make purchases at some point but as we have seen in the past when there is no news from China prices tend to dip until they make a purchase so they will be quiet waiting for the right time to buy.

Via Barchart                          Soybeans had a rough Thursday as the extended forecast offered a chance of help.  We have to remember that extended, is just that – it’s NOT tomorrow – and just as help was added it can go back to hot and dry in one weather report. You’ll note in the chart below that beans have been trading mostly sideways since the start of May. This will probably continue unless some unforeseen news hits the markets or a major weather event/change in forecast happens. The next major report is the August 12th report which could be what finally gets us out of the range (whether to the upside or downside is TBD).

The bean oil market has added volatility to beans as well as the Biden administration’s silence on their direction for the bio fuel industry.  Their lack of action, one way or the other, is hurting beans and bean oil as producers remain with unanswered questions which leads to uneasiness (read volatility).

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow lost on the week (Thursday-Thursday) following a large selloff on Monday followed by 3 straight days of gains. The market was trading positively into the week’s end as well getting back over 35,000 in intraday. The Delta variant worries seem to be biggest fear in the market right now as it spread dangerously throughout under vaccinated areas of the country threatening the continued reopening.

Podcast

Check out our recent podcast with Dr. Greg Willoughby: We’re talking with Greg in the new episode about being a “plant doctor”, weather patterns, GMO & organic produce, crop history, technical advances, level 201 education on agronomy, the agronomy equation, Helena Agri, soil biology, American v European agriculture, Greg’s early background in livestock, and the advancement of native plants to modern produce.

https://rcmagservices.com/the-hedged-edge/

US Drought Monitor

The maps below show the current drought conditions in the US. The second map is last week’s so you can see how the areas that received rain improved or did not. The wild fires continue to rage in the west as smoke from them has carried all the way to Southeastern US.

Via Barchart.com

09 Jul 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: JULY 1-8

The corn market fell thanks to the rain that was received in the Upper Midwest over the 4th of July weekend. As always when it rains in areas that need it the most, the market freaks out as if it is a crop making/saving rain. The reality is, although the rain was helpful, there are still significant drought conditions across most of the areas that received rain (see in the drought chart at the bottom). With this said, next week is forecasting rain across the western corn belt providing some more relief to those areas before returning to hot and dry after.

CONAB (Brazil’s USDA) updated their yield expectations this morning by cutting their corn crop by 3 million metric tons (120 million bushels). This change came before a freeze event they had recently which could lead to problems and another cut of their expected crop. The USDA will update their estimates of the South American crop next week in the report.

The weekly ethanol report was bullish as production was 2% ahead of pre-Covid 2019 levels. US drivers drove a record amount over the 4th of July weekend with indications that usage for the summer could be a new record. The USDA is expected to increase their estimates for corn used for ethanol coming up as their numbers are lagging the actual pace.

Via Barchart                        Soybeans, like corn, fell following the holiday weekend with huge losses on Tuesday to start the week. Weather remains the main focus of the markets as rains in the next week will help but forecasts have it followed by heat and dryness. Bean crop conditions this week were down 1% to 59% g/e. The soybean balance sheet does not have as much room for error as corn so any adverse soybean news will be bullish for the market. The long term up trend broke about 3 weeks ago but prices are still at a great level compared to what we were seeing this time last year. The report on Monday will help tell us what other news should be moving the market other than weather but headlines love to say it rained.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow lost on the week after a tough Thursday in the markets. The market bounced back well off its lows on Thursday into the close however to keep some momentum. The markets have been volatile, but the big picture is important as we have traded in the range above 34,000 for most of the last 2 months. The delta variant has had many people worried and keeping an eye on the market for any indicator of how bad it could end up being for continued reopening around the world.

Lumber

Lumber prices have flattened out the last couple weeks after losing over half its value from the peak. Markets are hinting at this being the beginning of a rebalancing as the producers and suppliers feel out the supply and demand story.

Podcast

Check out our recent podcast with Dr. Greg Willoughby: We’re talking with Greg in the new episode about being a “plant doctor”, weather patterns, GMO & organic produce, crop history, technical advances, level 201 education on agronomy, the agronomy equation, Helena Agri, soil biology, American v European agriculture, Greg’s early background in livestock, and the advancement of native plants to modern produce.

https://rcmagservices.com/the-hedged-edge/

US Drought Monitor

The maps below show the current US drought conditions this week vs last week. As you can see the rain that freaked out some in the markets did not exactly fix the drought problems. The rain was helpful but will need more consistent sustained rain to help the crop in the coming months.

Via Barchart.com

 

 

28 May 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: MAY 22-28

Volatility was the story this week as you can see the dip and bounce back over the last few days in the chart below. Surprisingly it was not the funds alone that triggered the selloff but rather a more balanced mix of funds, commercials, and farmer selling – in short – it appears to have been a bit of profit taking into the end of the month.

Corn had strong exports this week with no major cancellations (despite rumors to start the week).  While these rumors of a cancellation dropped prices aggressively, the subsequent large sales of new crop corn to China, following the dip, ended up saving China quite a bit of money while also rebounding our markets. Seller beware when China is the main buyer.

The weekly ethanol grind was 294MGa and well above the weekly pace needed to meet the annual USDA estimate. Corn was seen as being 91% planted to start the week along with great weather across most of the US heading into Memorial Day weekend.

Via Barchart


Soybeans made small gains on the week with lower volatility than corn but similar price movement. Exports were solid in old crop beans giving the bulls some momentum to work with heading  into the weekend. Exports were strong again this week, which is a welcome sign after slowing the last couple. The soybean crop was seen as about 80% planted at the start of the week as progress continues across the country. The recent loses have made US commodities competitive again in the world market allowing for some stronger demand into the end of the year. Once we get on the other side of Memorial Day the June weather outlook will start to be important as most of the crop will be in the ground and some already well into growing.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow and other indexes gained on the week with improving opening conditions and support for some of the major market players in the S&P. Republicans and Democrats continue to work on their versions of the infrastructure plan the Biden White House wants to pass.

Lumber

Check out our recent post about the lumber market and what all has been going on.

Podcast

Check out our recent podcast with Dr. Greg Willoughby: We’re talking with Greg in the new episode about being a “plant doctor”, weather patterns, GMO & organic produce, crop history, technical advances, level 201 education on agronomy, the agronomy equation, Helena Agri, soil biology, American v European agriculture, Greg’s early background in livestock, and the advancement of native plants to modern produce.

https://rcmagservices.com/the-hedged-edge/

US Drought Monitor

The map below shows this week’s drought conditions across the US. Many areas across the corn belt received rain over the week while others, like the Dakotas and Michigan, remain dry.

Via Barchart

14 May 2021

Ag Market Update: May 7-14

Corn finally had a day with a major pullback as it tested the new expanded limits on Thursday. This move comes after a slightly bearish crop report along with a lackluster trade following it. After the impressive run to this point it makes sense why speculators would take profits and hedgers would begin to manage their risk for this year as we begin to get better picture from the planting starts data. For the bulls, much of Brazil’s safrinha crop will go another 10-14 days without rain continuing to stress the crop. This week the US’ corn crop was seen as being 67% planted with more progress being made thanks to favorable weather. How the week finishes will be important for the bulls and bears to keep momentum on their side. In this week’s USDA report the 21/22 US ending stocks came in at 1.507 billion bushels (estimates were around 1.36 billion) and world 21/22 ending stocks at 292.3 million metric tons. The USDA and WASDE think demand rationing is coming as it cut US exports and increased ending stocks despite a record export and shipping pace.

Via Barchart

 

 

Soybeans, despite the big losses suffered on Thursday, finished the week above where they were last week. Beans were down over 80 cents at one point during trading on Thursday before large end user demand rallied prices 30 cents of the lows to show some support. We knew that expanding the daily limits would allow for more volatility but that does not make what has happened this week any easier to get comfortable with. In this week’s USDA report the 21/22 US ending stocks came in at 140 million bushels, slightly above estimates, with world ending stocks coming in at 91.1 million metric tonnes. The 20/21 US bean stocks were 120 million bushels, by starting at 140 million bushels there is not much room for error to be adjusted down without being tight on ending stocks. To finish at these levels export cuts are expected to come in.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow was down on the week along with other major averages as a correction has hit the market this week. The Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Russell 2000 were all down along with the DOW this week showing widespread market weakness and selling hitting all sectors.

Lumber

Check out our recent post about the lumber market and what all has been going on.

Podcast

Check out our recent podcast with Dr. Greg Willoughby: We’re talking with Greg in the new episode about being a “plant doctor”, weather patterns, GMO & organic produce, crop history, technical advances, level 201 education on agronomy, the agronomy equation, Helena Agri, soil biology, American v European agriculture, Greg’s early background in livestock, and the advancement of native plants to modern produce.

https://rcmagservices.com/the-hedged-edge/

Other News

A major bridge over the Mississippi River in Memphis, TN was shut down this week for traffic both over and under it as a major crack/break in the structure was discovered. This backed up hundreds of barges in the Mississippi with no alternate route until it reopened Friday morning.

The CDC announced this week that vaccinated Americans can go about most activities without having to wear a mask or social distance in a welcome announcement for people who have been wanting to get back out and about like normal times.

The Colonial Pipeline hack had many Americans scrambling desperately to fill up their cars and spare tanks, because if there is one thing Americans are great at it is over reacting. The hack caused a disruption in the distribution to many states but was opened back up after only a couple days but the shortages will persist for a little bit of time in some areas.

US Drought Monitor

The map below shows this week’s drought conditions across the US. Some areas have gotten rain this week that will help relieve some of the areas highlighted below.

Via Barchart.com

 

 

30 Apr 2021

AG Market Update: April 24-30

Volatility was the name of the game this week as many days saw wide trading ranges on both sides of unchanged. Looking at the chart below you can just how wide ranges the last few days have been.  Despite the volatlity, the May contract settled squarely within the range as of Thursday.  This volatility came about as we’ve faced a short squeeze on the front month May contract.  Coming into the week, there were nearly 200,000 open contracts, as of this morning there are only 12,500 – presumably many were on the short side and needed to cover.

Regardless of what has caused the rally – higher prices is GREAT for the American Farmer!

For the July contract and new crop Dec, the markets followed the May higher this week and most April as South America’s struggles with drought conditions begin to be seen in yield estimates.  Any rain after May 10th probably won’t be able to add must help this late in the game. As expected, exports were good this week but that has become the new normal. The epanded limits coming next week along with higher prices means we should probably expect volatility to hang around.

Via Barchart

Soybeans had small gains on the week as they also traded in wide ranges in the May contract in addition to future months. The short squeeze has end users scrambling with physical delivery coming up. Along with beans rallying, we have seen basis improve in many areas as buyers try get what is left out of farmers bins. A growing consensus among traders is that continued strong US cash bids indicate that the stock numbers are lower than the USDA reports.  Will the USDA adjust in the June report is a major question?  Bean meal and oil have also rallied in the past couple weeks aiding to soybeans rise. The fundamental news around the market was less in focus this week with the May contract expiration causing for most of the volatility.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow was up slightly on the week as more news about reopenings continue to roll in and President Biden gave his first speech to Congress. Vaccination rates continue to be strong in many cities and New York City announced this week they will lift all restrictions for reopening July 1st.

Lumber

Check out our recent post about the lumber market and what all has been going on.

Podcast

Check out or recent podcasts with guests Elaine Kub and Kyle Little. Elaine and Jeff discuss grain markets and trading grains while Kyle helps give insight into the Lumber markets and what has been going on.

https://rcmagservices.com/the-hedged-edge/

 

Other News

On Monday, daily trading limits will expand for our major markets with corn increased from 25 cents to 40 cents, beans from 70 to $1.00 and wheat from 40 to 45.  The CBOT is not tipping their hand that they expect volatility this summer, the daily limit increases are largely due to the high prices to keep daily ranges in line with historic percentages of price.

 

US Drought Monitor

The map below shows what areas are currently experiencing drought conditions across the US. Not much changed from last week. The rains in Texas will help alleviate some dryness in the area but will not solve their moisture issues. Some dryness has crept into Illinois and Indiana but nothing to worry about right now.

 

Weekly prices

Via Barchart.com