August 19, 2019   Comments per MIDCO

Morning Comments:

Good morning.  Grain prices are retreating once again after a brief recovery on Friday.  Prices did firm to end last week, but it was just a small recovery in an otherwise brutal week.  September corn lost 39 ¼ cents last week.  September wheat was down 28 ¾ with November beans losing 12 cents.  Rainfall over the weekend is contributing to the weaker tone with parts of northern Illinois seeing 1 to 2 inches of rain.   Rain chances will persist through Tuesday before a drier profile settles back in for a few days.  Temps will cool down again late this week.  The extended forecast does not offer anything extreme in the terms of heat or cold.  The crop progress report is expected out this afternoon with corn and bean ratings expected to be steady from last week’s 57% on corn and 54% on beans.  The ProFarmer crop tour starts today.  Variability in yield potential is expected to be the key talking point this week from the tour as this is the first real objective yield data that the trade will get to focus on.  Twitter reports from the tour look to be the main news source this week.  China and the U.S. continue to go back and forth on what effect the tariffs are having on their countries.  President Trump and his crew reiterated over the weekend that the economy is just fine and that “we are doing very well with China”.  Phone conversations are still occurring between the two and it is still hopeful that they will meet in person come September.  China said that its pig herd was down 32.2% in July versus the previous July.  One Chinese source also stated that China can meet its soybean needs the rest of the year through South America.  Export inspections will be out this morning.  December corn has consolidated in recent sessions around the $3.75 mark.  The Friday bounce improved the RSI for corn but it still lingers near 30.  Still hard to believe that with all the planting struggles this year that December corn is trading only 10 cents above its contract low.  All eyes will be on the tour this week.  Have a good day.