Morning Comments (RJ O'Brien)

Morning Grain Comments - October 15th 2024

Overnight Headlines: 

• At 8AM, the USDA announced: 
  1. 131,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China during the 2024/2025 marketing year
  2. 120,000 metric tons of soft red winter wheat for delivery to Mexico during the 2024/2025 marketing year
• The likelihood of a La Nina weather event in the coming months has decreased, with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology suggesting it would be weak and short-lived if it does develop.
• France's farm ministry has slightly reduced its estimate of the 2024 soft wheat output to 25.43 million metric tons due to heavy rain, while raising the maize output forecast to 14.47 million tons.
• Ukrainian farmers have sown 3.73 million hectares of winter grains for the 2025 harvest (72% of expected area), including 3.35 million hectares of winter wheat (75%).
• Five trading companies are participating in Jordan's tender to purchase 120,000 metric tons of wheat, with results expected later today.
• Turkey has relaxed its wheat import rules ahead of the expiry of a ban, allowing millers and product exporters to import wheat with 85% of purchases from domestic grain board stocks and 15% through private imports.
• Malaysian palm oil futures fell 1% overnight, down for the second consecutive session due to weaker rival edible oils and crude oil prices, but robust export data limited the losses. Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for October 1-15 rose 15.6% to 803,252 metric tons compared to the same period in September.
• The lowest offers in Egypt's state purchasing tender for vegetable oils were $1,145 per metric ton for soyoil and $1,229 per metric ton for sunflower oil.
• A smaller sunseed crop and strong foreign demand for Ukrainian sunflower oil has pushed local sunflower seed prices to their highest levels in almost three years.