Good morning,
Corn and wheat markets are down this morning on news out of Russia! Corn is currently down 12, wheat is down 24 and soybeans are up 6.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is “open to negotiations” on Ukraine but the West must accept Moscow’s demands, the Kremlin said on Friday, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden said he was willing to talk if Putin were looking for a way to end the war. This is what has corn and wheat futures down this morning with a potential end of the conflict in the Ukraine. I am not buying the rumor this morning as we’ve seen enough out of the Kremlin to have no idea what the end game would actually look like, but it is one of the first signs of hope that we have seen.
The EPA announced the RVO biofuel mandates for 2023,2024, and 2025 at 22.68 billion gallons. RVO’s were expected to be higher and bean oil is down sharply by 300 points. The EPA set corn ethanol at 15.0 billion gallons for 2023, and 15.25 gallons for 2024 and 2025. This flat increase tells of a mature industry where the EPA is looking for no growth.
Corn, soybeans and wheat are showing the characteristics of a bad market. The EPA’s lack of changes would not have caused this kind of violent reaction in the markets a year ago, but here we are. The Fed is going to raise interest rates another .5% sometime next week, which certainly won’t help matters. We are always in changing times; this era is going to be defined by higher interest and the cost of money.
Have a Safe Day!
Garry Gard
920-348-6844
