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Largely bullish data in this morning’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report from USDA sent grain prices soaring on Friday, leading to double-digit gains across the board for corn, soybeans and wheat contracts. Corn prices jumped 2.75% higher, while soybeans shifted 1% higher. Wheat gains were variable, largely ranging between 2.5% and 4.5%.
More rains will be moving across the Midwest over the next several days. Some fields will only receive trace amounts, while others will gather as much as 1” or more between Saturday and Tuesday, per the latest 72-hour cumulative precipitation map from NOAA. Later this month, NOAA’s new 8-to-14-day outlook predicts more seasonally wet weather for the eastern half of the country between May 17 and May 23, with near-normal temperatures for most of the central U.S. during this time.
On Wall St., the Dow moved another 75 points higher in afternoon trading to 39,462 and is on pace for an eight-day winning streak, despite some bearish consumer sentiment data that was released this morning. Energy futures faced moderate cuts, with crude oil sinking 1% lower to $78 per barrel, partly spurred by a strong U.S. Dollar. Diesel dropped 1.5%, with gasoline down around 1.25%. The U.S. Dollar softened slightly.
On Thursday, commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT wheat (+2,000) but were…
