There was some follow-through buying interest from Wednesday’s (12 June) good gains, which were led by a solid advance in soybean prices.

Focus late this week is on late-planted US corn and soybean crops that will find it very hard to reach trend-line yield potential. The USDA, on Tuesday, dramatically lowered the US average corn yield, with many thinking the agency could do the same for soybeans in its next supply and demand update.

The late-June US updated acreage and stocks reports from USDA will be a major data point for grain futures traders.

Weather in the US Midwest has been generally dry, but cooler and wetter weather is in the forecast and that favours the grain market bulls, as there are still concerns about wet soils and a lack of heat that the crops need in summertime.

Traders will also closely examine today’s weekly USDA export sales report to get a gauge on worldwide demand for US grains.

Another element working in favour of the grain market bulls is the fact the big, speculative “fund” futures traders may have been “wrong-footed,” as prices have rallied when most of the funds were short the markets. Those shorts are being squeezed at present, and more price gains will force them to buy back their short positions, to drive prices still higher.