Market Update – Sept. 13, 2013

Cereal Grains & Soybeans (by: Brian Williams)

The big news this week is yesterday’s WASDE report release (recap here). While many were expecting corn yields to be revised lower this month, yields were actually revised higher to 155.3 bu/acre. This was bearish news for the corn market as December corn closed down six cents Thursday and down seven cents again on Friday. Harvest is progressing well in Mississippi with 60 percent of the crop now harvested and 79 percent of the Mississippi corn crop is rated good or excellent. The crop condition in Mississippi was reflected in the USDA Crop Production report with a new record yield of 170 bu/acre expected this year. The WASDE was slightly bullish for soybeans. Expected yields were revised downward to 41.2 bu/acre, although that did line up with pre-report expectations. The soybean ending stocks were revised down to 150 million bushels, a number that is only slightly higher than last year. This caused upward pressure on the markets yesterday with nearby soybean futures finishing up 38 cents on the day. Some of Thursday’s gain was lost on Friday however, as soybeans closed down 14 cents on the day. Mississippi soybean conditions are looking very good with 74 percent of the crop rated good or excellent. The Crop Production report has Mississippi soybean yields unchanged from last month at 42 bu/acre. This is 3 bu/acre lower than last year’s record yield of 45 bu/acre. Currently, 19 percent of the Mississippi soybean crop has dropped its leaves and 40 percent have turned color. Both of these numbers are significantly behind the 5-year average.

Cotton (by: John Michael Riley)

Cotton prices finished the week slightly higher compared to last Friday’s close. A weaker U.S. dollar and steady stock market (some might call it higher) helped add support. USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board released their monthly supply and demand estimates report mid-day Thursday. The report is summarized here and in spite of it showing more cotton in stocks both in the U.S. across the globe, markets were higher on the day. The U.S. crop continues decline. The national yield estimate was lowered 17 pounds to 796 (with Mississippi’s yield getting bumped to 1,009).

Futures Market Recap:

Mississippi Cash Quotes: