Market Update

Agricultural futures markets were mixed on Friday following the midday release of the USDA’s May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates. For the first time, production and usage data for the 2023/24 marketing year was shared. This highlighted the fact that corn and soybean stocks for 2023/24 are anticipated to increase as rapid planting progresses. US wheat futures saw an upturn after the USDA forecast that global and domestic supplies are expected to dwindle during 2023/24 compared to 2022/23. As of now, there is an expectation for higher ending stocks of wheat, corn, and soybeans in 2022/23, likely contributing to a bearish mood among near-term contracts.

According to the USDA, US soybean ending stocks are expected to grow from 215 million bushels to 335 million in 2023/24, surpassing the highest level since 2019/2020. Additionally, the USDA forecast global new crop soybean ending stocks to be 122 million mt, higher than the 101 million mt…