A roundup of key agricultural commodity markets for the week of June 24-28 by Dow Jones Newswires in Barcelona.
By Giulia Petroni
GRAINS & OILSEEDS:
The macroeconomic environment seemed to be improving on Monday amid a softer U.S. dollar and a firmer Brazilian real ahead of key U.S. inflation data on Friday, according to market watchers. "Friday's PCE inflation data could move the U.S. dollar if we see an outlier print, otherwise we'll see much more important data points in July, starting with NFP [nonfarm payrolls] jobs next Friday," Peak Trading Research analysts say. Meanwhile, "a sustained recovery in Brazil's currency would lift a lot of our markets higher via better U.S. export competitiveness," they say in a note to clients.
Analysts at the research firm expect July to be a broadly bearish month for grain and oilseed markets, with traders keeping a close eye on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's stocks and acreage numbers due on Friday. Chicago wheat futures were 1.4% lower at $5.63 a bushel on Tuesday, while corn was down 1.7% at $4.44 a bushel. Soybeans prices fell 1.7% to $11.11 a bushel.
SOFT COMMODITIES:
Cocoa continues to be highly volatile. Concerns over production in Western African countries drove prices higher in recent weeks, with government data showing total cocoa shipments from Cote d'Ivoire--the world's largest exporter--almost 30% lower on year between October and mid-June, according to analysts at BMI.
Yet, reports of more beneficial weather for farmers in Ivory Coast and Ghana boosted expectations for production and sparked fund selling in cocoa futures on Monday. Demand concerns are also lingering, with chocolate producer Nestle reportedly saying last week that consumers will probably cut back on chocolate due to higher prices.
"The direction of the cocoa price can quickly change again, as the last few weeks have impressively demonstrated," Commerzbank Research's Carsten Fritsch said in a note.
Cocoa traded 0.2% lower at $7,904 a metric ton, while coffee fell 3.2% to $2.29 a pound on Tuesday despite soft Vietnamese exports and below-trend rainfall in Brazil. Sugar was down 2.1% at $0.19 a pound.
Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 25, 2024 11:29 ET (15:29 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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