Highlights
Last half of August is going to be hot and dry for most of the Corn Belt. Suddenly, soybeans and soybean oil are leading CBOT higher. Finally, big specs are buying bean oil and selling meal. Yesterday, November beans were up 18¼¢, September oil up 87¢ per cwt, September meal up 70¢ per ton with a settlement at $404.50. The meal puts summary:
Wednesday saw another batch of better-than-expected US economic data showing that interest rates increases are most likely to continue through 2023. Borrowing costs are weighing more heavily on investors' psyche than the surprising strength of the US economy. The dollar index has been higher 18 of the last 24 days, encouraging foreign buyers of US goods to become aggressive buyers before the dollar gets even more expensive.
Oil prices hit their highest levels of the year last week, and are now in retreat due to perceived faltering demand from China. Meanwhile, the war continues to escalate.