03/16/23 Latest U.S. Rain Outlook Mostly Favorable

Overnight trade is mixed with corn and beans on the plus side but wheat soft as we go to press. The safe corridor deal for Ukraine we likely renew without incident despite Russian complaints and threats. Why? Because now China has weighed in favor of extension and with continued China support critical to Putin he’s unlikely to buck them.   The latest 2-week precipitation outlook came out yesterday. It leans favorable for the whole country except for parts of HRW country in the Southern Plains and potentially excessive in much of the E. Corn Belt and threatening fieldwork delays.   Today we get another batch of weekly export sales. Another big flash sale of corn to China yesterday of 667,000 tonnes has raised hopes for more and expectations for this morning’s weekly sales of corn range from 700,000 to 1.5 million tonnes. Expectations for soybeans and wheat range from very low to robust; as low as 50K for beans to as high as 700K and as low as 75K for wheat to as high as 500K. Another issue making headlines is a new outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in China. It’s not seen as threatening as the 2019 disaster…