Obviously, we have not exhausted the buying that needs to be completed this week. After taking a hiatus on Tuesday (Tuesday-undo), buyers were back at it again yesterday, particularly in the soybean and soymeal markets. We should keep in mind that just a few weeks ago, these two were, with little question, the most oversold in the Ag groups, so it only stands to reason, they have seen some of the best percentage advances as well. While we have shown little sign of slowing down this rebound just yet, as you can see, we have spot meal futures closing in on a 50% retracement of the entire range this year and are pushed indicators into the overbought zone. I suspect this advance should be wrapped up by Thanksgiving, if not before. I have heard a lot of complaints this year about the price of real Turkeys, so maybe the same will apply to Tofu-turkeys as well.
There were no surprises in the weekly export sales figures, but we did see a nice rebound in the wheat numbers and an improvement in beans. For the week ending the 11th, we sold 399,100 MT or 14.7 million bushels of wheat. This was 40% above the previous week and 21% better than the 4-week average. Nigeria was at the top of the list with 84.2k MT, followed by Vietnam with 66k, and then Japan taking 62.5k. Beans sales were 13% higher than the previous week, settling in at 1,382,700 MT or 50.8 million bushels, but this was still 20% behind the 4-week average. This week China only accounted for 53% of the total with 727.5k MT, followed by the Netherlands at 133k and then Spain in for 113.7k. While still not bad by any means, corn sales slipped 15% from last week, coming in at 904,600 MT or 35.6 million bushels. This was also 19% below the 4-week average. Canada led the buying with 230k MT, with Mexico next at 210.4k, and then Japan taking 201.6k. I would note that both Sorghum and Rice set marketing year highs last week. In the meats, Beef sales rebounded 23% to 25,500 MT, and pork sales were 7% higher at 25,000 MT.
The weekly initial jobless claims numbers changed little last week, dropping just 1,000 to 268,000. I guess one should not complain as long as the numbers are moving in the right direction as this is the lowest figure reached since March 2020.
Over in the macro trade this morning, we find energies and metals under pressure. Financial instruments are higher, the dollar is under minor pressure, and equities lower. Currently, the DJIA is around 300 points lower for the week.
