Weekly Market Update 1-25-24

Here is your weekly market update from the Garden City Co-op Grain Origination Team.

Trivia

1. Where were the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights stored during World War II?
    

2. In what country was the first Starbucks opened outside North America?

Answers at the bottom.

Market News

 
ADM Stocks plunge: Recent reports indicate that ADM's stock value dropped by over 20% at the beginning of this week. This led to the company's stocks reaching their lowest value in nearly three years. The decline was due to ADM's Chief Financial Officer being put on leave and the company's decision to reduce its full-year profit forecast. ADM is currently investigating certain accounting practices related to its nutrition division, which offers a variety of ingredients to the food, beverage, and nutritional supplement industries, such as plant-based proteins, natural flavors, and emulsifiers. The investigation was initiated after a request from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which also led to a delay in ADM's fourth-quarter earnings report. Following the investigation, several brokerages have downgraded ADM's stock until further clarity is provided.
 

Export Inspections
 In this week's report, it was noted that corn export inspections were below expectations. The total amount of corn inspected and shipped was 28.1 million bushels, at the lower end of the estimated range. The primary buyer for the week was Mexico, which is not surprising, followed by Japan and Colombia. The corn market is currently being tested to determine if a floor has been put in place. Soybeans reported 42.7 million bushels shipped. However, US shipments remain slow while the cost of freight to the West Coast is exploding, as it is the only logistically efficient route for beans. Wheat inspections reported better than the prior week at 11.6 million bushels, below wheat's 10-week average. Milo reported on the lower side this week with 3.1 million bushels but is still ahead of the USDA pace needed.

Export Sales
The current export sales report is as follows: Corn sales were 37.6 million bushels, with 1.5 million bushels sold for new crop contracts. Overall, sales aligned with this week's estimates and are ahead of the required pace & historically average for this time of year. Soybeans sold 20.6 million bushels, but unfortunately, demand was lackluster and below the five-year average. There were no new crop sales. Milo reported 2.4 million bushels. Lastly, wheat sales were at 16.6 million bushels, with 2.2 million bushels sold for new crop contracts, although interior demand was firm. However, these numbers were lower compared to the previous week.

Weather

The forecast for this week is as follows: Today's high is expected to be in the upper 40s, with a 50% chance of a winter mix of rain and snow tomorrow. Looking ahead to the weekend and the upcoming week, we can expect the temperatures to warm up with highs in the mid-50s while the lows dip into the 20s-30s. Winds can be around 5-10 MPH.

Trivia Answers

1. Fort Knox
2. Japan