Weekly Market Update 2-22-2024
Here is your weekly market update from the Garden City Co-op Grain Origination Team.
Trivia
1. What is the tiny piece at the end of a shoelace called?2. In what year was the internet opened to the public?
Answers at the bottom.
Market News
World News: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said Russia was against the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and his defense minister flatly denied any reports of Russia developing a nuclear weapon capability for space. However, the US believes in Russia's development of a space nuclear space weapon capable of various causes of concern. For example, detonating could impact everything from military communications to phone-based ride services; a source familiar with the matter anonymously said from his understanding that the system would involve a nuclear explosive device placed into orbit. The White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment. The clearest public sign is from Washington spokespeople commenting on Thursday detailing that the United States believes the system being developed would infringe on the Outer Space Treaty put in place, which describes any objects placed in orbit carrying nuclear weapons of any or other kinds of weapons of mass destruction clause, with a host of issues in the U.S.-Russia relations. U.S. officials have offered caution against Russia for such weapons.
El Nino & Looking Forward: The weather has affected the United States and South America for the past few months, causing a warmer and drier winter in the corn belt. However, experts indicate that this pattern is starting to break down. El Nino is showing signs of weakening for the first time in four years, which is good news for grain producers but potentially bad news for cattle producers. Weather experts predict that El Nino will stabilize and may remain so for the remainder of the winter. The jet stream will also stay farther to the south, bringing moisture to the Central and Southern Plains, which is good news for the dry winter wheat and cotton areas but lousy news for cattle-feeding areas. Spring precipitation will take time for subsoil moisture to recharge so that some areas will see lingering drought.
Export Inspections: Based on the inspection report from yesterday, there has been a slight uptick in the shipment of corn. 36.2 million corn bushels were inspected, slightly lower than the estimated amount. Most corn shipments were delivered to Mexico, accounting for almost half of the total shipments. Japan was the second largest destination, importing approximately half of Mexico's amount. Soybeans were inspected and shipped 43.3 million bushels, which was on the high side of estimates. With 28 weeks left, soybeans remain on pace needed by the USDA. China is the front-runner in terms of shipping, followed by Mexico. Current Wheat shipped a million bushels in line with estimates; however, it is 2% behind the needed pace. Milo reported 12.4 million bushels inspected, with China being the destination. Export Sales will not be included due to the holiday week.
Weather
This week’s weather has sprung into a warmer season, and the temps make your workday much more enjoyable. We have a weekend with temperatures in the 60s and 70s and an upcoming week with highs near the 80s, mostly 70s, and lows in the 30-40 range. You can expect some wind near the middle of next week—no moisture in the forecast.
Trivia Answers
- An aglet
- 1993