Corn: Old crop corn closed higher, new crop was lower. Informa reduced their 2013 US corn planting estimate from 97.753 million acres last month to 96.827 million and around half a million lower than the USDA's forecast of 97.3 million. Yields were pegged at 160.9 bu/acre versus the USDA's 158 bpa. The big debate now is how much corn has been planted in the US this week. Estimates vary quite widely. Towards the low end we have planting advancing from 28% done last week to maybe 50% complete as of Sunday night. Others go 60%, some even say 70%. The record for planting the largest proportion ever of the US corn crop in just one week, I am reliably informed, was set in 1992. In what was the equivalent of last week, 43% of the crop was planted in one week, equal to 34 million acres, says Dale Durchholz of Agrivisor. "As the hourglass runs out on corn planting dates for profitable yields, Midwest producers are 'mudding' in seeds. Ag Web is hearing reports that 60-80% of corn may now be planted in Iowa and Illinois, despite exceptional wet field conditions," say Martell Crop Projections. After May 15, it is harder for growers to wait to plant corn University of Illinois agronomist Emerson Nafziger asserts. "In fairness, you get to a certain point and it’s what have you got to lose?" Farmers are getting desperate as the ideal sowing period was 2 weeks ago, they add. In other news the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange estimated the Argentine corn crop at 24.8 MMT, unchanged from a week ago. They say that the harvest there is approaching the halfway point at 46% done. Argentine corn offers are said to be USD30-35/tonne cheaper on an FOB basis for July shipment than they are out of the US. Jul 13 Corn closed at USD6.52 3/4, up 11 1/4 cents; Sep 13 Corn closed at USD5.56, up 2 1/4 cents. For the week Jul 13 was up 16 1/2 cents.

Wheat: Wheat was lower on all three exchanges, although less so in Minneapolis which has been the recurring theme all week. Spring wheat planting delays on the northern US Plains and Canadian Prairies being the reason for that. The USDA will report on planting progress for US wheat on Monday night. Last week saw spring plantings at only 43% done versus the 5-year average of 63%. North Dakota was a notable laggard at only 26% planted versus 92% this time last year and 53% normally. The top spring wheat state experienced the coldest April on record this year, according to Martell Crop Projections. "This explains the delayed snowmelt and cold soil temperatures that set back spring planting," they say. Further south in the winter wheat states "hard red winter wheat experienced freezing temperatures in several cold outbreaks in April and May. How much wheat may have been damaged is still unknown. Kansas wheat has stabilised, but yield potential is still severely reduced by drought and freeze effects with 28% good-excellent, 31% fair and 41% poor-very poor. Poor Kansas wheat ranks among the 15% of worst years on record (out of 28 growing seasons)," they add. Informa reduced their US spring wheat acres by 300 thousand to 12.4 million acres. Although up from last year, that's lower than the March USDA planting intentions report. Elsewhere the market is watching to see if the forecast rains for Ukraine and the Russian winter wheat areas in the south turn up. There's also rain in the forecast for Australia. "Rains across South Australia on Monday, and across southern Queensland and New South Wales Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, will finally begin to replenish moisture which will benefit winter wheat germination and early growth," say MDA CropCast. Meanwhile Turkey was said to have offered wheat at around a USD30/tonne discount to French wheat in it's tender. Jul 13 CBOT Wheat closed at USD6.83 1/4, down 4 1/2 cents; Jul 13 KCBT Wheat closed at USD7.37 1/4, down 6 1/4 cents; Jul 13 MGEX Wheat closed at USD8.03 3/4, down 1/4 cent. For the week that puts Jul 13 CBOT wheat down 26 1/2 cents, with KCBT wheat down 21 3/4 cents and MGEX down a more modest 5 cents.

Corn: Corn export sales came in at 219,900 MT of old crop and a modest 38,600 MT of new crop, at the low end of trade forecasts for a combined 2-400 TMT. The US now has 87% of the USDA target for the season on the books, with a third of that target shipped so far. A report on Reuters said that 2 MMT of South American corn is scheduled to be shipped to the US between now and August. South Korea's Kocopia bought 55 TMT of Brazilian corn for August shipment. MDA CropCast forecast the world corn crop up 12.8% in 2013/14 led by a near 30% hike in US production. They increased their projections for output in Ukraine, Russia, Europe and Argentina versus last week. They also forecast the world barley crop up nearly 7% to 135.9 MMT this year. For US corn "rains were much more limited this past week, which allowed planting to increase considerably. However, rains should now build back across the region, and planting progress will slow a bit, especially in south central and northwestern portions of the Midwest. Planting should progress well in far northeastern areas," they said. Funds were estimated as net sellers of around 8,000 corn contracts on the day. Jul 13 Corn closed at USD6.41 1/2, down 9 1/4 cents; Sep 13 Corn closed at USD5.53 3/4, down 9 3/4 cents.

Wheat: The wheat market fell in line with corn. MDA CropCast increased their estimate for 2013/14 world wheat production by 6 MMT from last week "due mainly to increased acreage and yield expectations in the U.S, EU-27, and FSU." They also upped potential Canadian output by 2.1 MMT from last week to 29.7 MMT, an increase of 12.5% on last year. In Canada this week "the lack of widespread rains allowed spring wheat planting to progress very well," they said. US weekly export sales for wheat were 125,000 MT of old crop and 415,600 MT of new crop versus trade forecasts of a combined 2-500 TMT. The US now 95.7% of the USDA target for the Jun/May 2012/13 marketing year on the books. With only a few weeks remaining to the end of the 2012/13 season though there's still 2.3 MMT worth of outstanding sales left unshipped, meaning that it looks likely that there will be some carryover of sales into 2013/14 and the USDA target of exports of 28 MMT this year is unlikely to be met. Bangladesh bought 50 TMT of optional origin wheat, possibly Indian, for June shipment. Japan bought a 147,620 MT combo of US, Canadian and Australian wheat for June–Aug shipment. Fund selling in CBOT wheat was estimated at a net 2-3,000 contracts on the day. Jul 13 CBOT Wheat closed at USD6.87 3/4, down 6 cents; Jul 13 KCBT Wheat closed at USD7.43 1/2, down 8 1/4 cents; Jul 13 MGEX Wheat closed at USD8.04, up 1/4 cent.

Corn: The Midwest is forecast mainly dry today and tomorrow, but rains return by the weekend and into next week. The trade is anticipating good planting progress to be made in corn in the early part of the week. The University of Illinois said that corn planted after May 10th could suffer an 8% decline in yield potential, rising to 15% after May 20th and 25% after June 1st. China's CNGOIC estimated the corn crop there at a record 214 MMT, up 2.8% on last year and 2 MMT higher than the USDA. They have Chinese corn imports in 2013/14 at 5.0 MMT, which is 2 MMT less than the USDA, although up versus 2.7 MMT this season. Michael Cordonnier estimated US corn yields in 2013 at 155-156 bu/acre, unchanged from his previous estimate. He placed the Brazilian corn crop at 76.0 MMT, up 1.0 MMT from his previous estimate. He said that about 41% of the Argentine corn crop has been harvested. The weekly US ethanol plant production comes out tomorrow. Last week's production came in at 843,000 barrels per day, down 14,000 bpd from the previous week. Production needs to come in at around 868,000 bpd to meet the USDA's target for the season. South Korea's NOFI bought 60 TMT of optional origin (probably South American) corn for September shipment. South Korea also bought 53 TMT of optional origin feed wheat for August shipment. They are said to have bought around 500 TMT of wheat and corn over the past week. May 13 Corn closed at USD7.06 3/4, down 11 1/4 cents; Jul 13 Corn closed at USD6.52 1/2, down 3 cents.

Wheat: Fresh news was thin on the ground for wheat, which led to thin directionless trade. CNGOIC estimated China's 2013 wheat crop at a record 121.9 MMT, up 1.1% on last year. The wheat planted area was estimated at 24.1 million hectares, down 0.42% from a year ago. Japan are tendering for 147,620 MT of wheat for June–Aug shipment. The breakdown for that is 24,556 MT of western white US wheat, 29,200 MT dark northern spring US wheat, 30,966 MT of US HRW wheat, 34,632 MT of Canadian western red spring wheat and 28,266 MT of Australian white wheat. The Russian Ag Minister said that as of yesterday spring grain plantings are 41.3% complete, around unchanged from a year ago. The Russian government sold around 42 TMT of grain in today's tender offering, bringing the total sold since sales began in October to 3.15 MMT. Ukraine spring grains plantings are 94% complete. Needed rains are in forecast next week for both Russia and the Ukraine. Australia reverts to being dry for the next few days, but rains are back in the 4-7 day forecast. "With winter wheat harvest approaching, deep discounts on Black Sea new crop offers and signs the HRW has stabilized, the current price pattern and the general lack of interest favours lower wheat prices going forward," said Benson Quinn Commodities. "North Dakota producers have planted 26% of wheat up from just 7% a week ago. The slow pace of planting is still ahead of 2011, when just 15% of wheat was sown. Both corn and spring wheat planting would be stymied by rain later this week," said Martell Crop Projections. May 13 CBOT Wheat closed at USD7.01 1/2, unchanged; May 13 MGEX Wheat closed at USD8.57 3/4, also unchanged.

Corn: The Midwest is forecast mainly dry today and tomorrow, but rains return by the weekend and into next week. The trade is anticipating good planting progress to be made in corn in the early part of the week. The University of Illinois said that corn planted after May 10th could suffer an 8% decline in yield potential, rising to 15% after May 20th and 25% after June 1st. China's CNGOIC estimated the corn crop there at a record 214 MMT, up 2.8% on last year and 2 MMT higher than the USDA. They have Chinese corn imports in 2013/14 at 5.0 MMT, which is 2 MMT less than the USDA, although up versus 2.7 MMT this season. Michael Cordonnier estimated US corn yields in 2013 at 155-156 bu/acre, unchanged from his previous estimate. He placed the Brazilian corn crop at 76.0 MMT, up 1.0 MMT from his previous estimate. He said that about 41% of the Argentine corn crop has been harvested. The weekly US ethanol plant production comes out tomorrow. Last week's production came in at 843,000 barrels per day, down 14,000 bpd from the previous week. Production needs to come in at around 868,000 bpd to meet the USDA's target for the season. South Korea's NOFI bought 60 TMT of optional origin (probably South American) corn for September shipment. South Korea also bought 53 TMT of optional origin feed wheat for August shipment. They are said to have bought around 500 TMT of wheat and corn over the past week. May 13 Corn closed at USD7.06 3/4, down 11 1/4 cents; Jul 13 Corn closed at USD6.52 1/2, down 3 cents.

Wheat: Fresh news was thin on the ground for wheat, which led to thin directionless trade. CNGOIC estimated China's 2013 wheat crop at a record 121.9 MMT, up 1.1% on last year. The wheat planted area was estimated at 24.1 million hectares, down 0.42% from a year ago. Japan are tendering for 147,620 MT of wheat for June–Aug shipment. The breakdown for that is 24,556 MT of western white US wheat, 29,200 MT dark northern spring US wheat, 30,966 MT of US HRW wheat, 34,632 MT of Canadian western red spring wheat and 28,266 MT of Australian white wheat. The Russian Ag Minister said that as of yesterday spring grain plantings are 41.3% complete, around unchanged from a year ago. The Russian government sold around 42 TMT of grain in today's tender offering, bringing the total sold since sales began in October to 3.15 MMT. Ukraine spring grains plantings are 94% complete. Needed rains are in forecast next week for both Russia and the Ukraine. Australia reverts to being dry for the next few days, but rains are back in the 4-7 day forecast. "With winter wheat harvest approaching, deep discounts on Black Sea new crop offers and signs the HRW has stabilized, the current price pattern and the general lack of interest favours lower wheat prices going forward," said Benson Quinn Commodities. "North Dakota producers have planted 26% of wheat up from just 7% a week ago. The slow pace of planting is still ahead of 2011, when just 15% of wheat was sown. Both corn and spring wheat planting would be stymied by rain later this week," said Martell Crop Projections. May 13 CBOT Wheat closed at USD7.01 1/2, unchanged; May 13 MGEX Wheat closed at USD8.57 3/4, also unchanged.

Corn: Slow US planting progress and tight old crop stocks also sent the corn market sharply higher. After the close the USDA said that 28% of the US corn crop had been planted, slightly below the average trade guess of 29% and the slowest pace since 1984. The 5-year average is 65%. Weekly export inspections of 12.7 million bushels beat trade expectations of 6-10 million. Year to date shipments are 501.68 million bushels versus the USDA forecast of 750 million for the season. South Korea's NOFI are tendering for 70 TMT of optional origin corn for September shipment. South American origin is the favourite to win that tender. After a fairly dry weekend and start to the week in the Corn Belt, rains return Wednesday and Thursday and both the 6-10 day and 11-15 day forecasts are wetter. "A horizontal weather front is expected to develop on Wednesday from Nebraska to Ohio, keeping conditions unstable and ripe for showers. Hardly any movement is predicted for several days, into the weekend. Warm humid air from the Gulf of Mexico would circulate northward, fuelling scattered strong thunderstorms. At least one inch of rainfall is predicted this week in the corn belt, but potentially more," say Martell Crop Projections. May 13 Corn closed at USD7.18, up 30 1/4 cents; Jul 13 Corn closed at USD6.55 1/2, up 19 1/4 cents.

Wheat: Wheat remains a follower, dragged higher by corn. Weekly export inspections of 24 million bushels did offer some support though versus trade expectations of 15-19 million. That was up from 17.9 million a week ago and above the level required to hit the USDA's target for the season. After the close the USDA reported US winter wheat crop conditions as 32% good/excellent, the same as last week. Poor/very poor was also unchanged at 39%. Only 29% of the crop is headed versus 51% normally. Spring wheat planted advanced from 23% complete last week to 43% done this time round. The 5-year average for this time is 63% though. North Dakota is only 26% planted versus 92% this time last year and 53% normally. Spring wheat emergence is only 10% versus 63% last year and 32% for the 5-year average. The weather refuses to play ball. "The northern spring wheat forecast in North Dakota and Minnesota is very stormy later this week. A strong storm system would encroach in the Northern Plains Friday night and Saturday turning weather conditions stormy and wet. One-inch rains are possible with locally strong thunderstorms," say Martell Crop Projections. May 13 CBOT Wheat closed at USD7.01 1/2, up 4 3/4 cents; May 13 KCBT Wheat closed at USD7.60 1/2, down 11 cents; May 13 MGEX Wheat closed at USD8.57 3/4, unchanged.

Corn: Similar to soybeans, corn got a bit of support nearby from tight old crop US supplies, but the outlook was more bearish going forward into new crop. The USDA pegged US corn yields at 158 bu/acre this year, 28% up on last year, with production projected at 14.1 billion bushels, up more than 30% to a record 14.1 billion bushels. Old crop carryout was increased slightly to 759 million bushels versus the 754 million that the trade was expecting. US ending stocks for 2013/14 however are seen rebounding sharply to in excess of 2 billion bushels. Demand from the ethanol sector in 2012/13 was increased slightly to 4.6 billion bushels, although that was offset by a reduction in exports to 750 million bushels. Brazil's corn crop this year was raised 2 MMT to 74 MMT, whilst Argentina's was left unchanged at 26.5 MMT. The trade was expecting 75.2 MMT and 25.4 MMT respectively. World corn production in 2013/14 was pegged at a record 966 MMT, up 12.7% on 2012/13. New crop global ending stocks were forecast at 154.63 MMT versus an average trade estimate of 150.9 MMT. China is seen importing 7 MMT of corn next season, versus 3 MMT this year, despite their domestic production rising to a record 212 MMT. In other news, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said that Argentine corn harvest is 40.5% complete, up from 38.5% a week ago and versus 49.2% a year ago. They estimated the crop at 24.8 MMT, unchanged from their previous estimate. Now that this USDA report is out of the way we go back to trading the weather. The trade is expecting US corn planting to be somewhere between 25-35% complete in Monday night's crop progress report. it may come in at the low end of that scale as farmers wait for fields to dry out a little and soil temperatures to improve rather than risk planting in soggy, wet conditions. The CFTC commitment of traders report shows spec money increasing their net long heading into this report. Today funds were judged to have ended up as net sellers of around 10,000 contracts. May 13 Corn closed at USD6.87 3/4, down 6 3/4 cents; Jul 13 Corn closed at USD6.36 1/4, down 12 1/2 cents. May 13 corn was down 11 3/4 cents for the week whilst Jul 13 shed 25 cents.

Wheat: The USDA left US 2012/13 ending stocks unchanged at 731 million bushels, in line with expectations. They pegged 2013 US all wheat production at just over 2 billion bushels, which was also in line with trade forecasts. Production in the top US wheat state of Kansas was forecast down from 382.2 million bushels last year to 299.7 million, although this was now a severe a drop as many expected, and still beats output of 276.5 million in 2011. They did however paint a picture of plentiful wheat availability around the world for 2013/14, with a record global crop of 701 MMT, up 7% from output versus 2012. Whilst US output is seen down 8% this year, there are increases for Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, which are all broadly in line with the estimates given by the FAO yesterday. Russia's wheat crop is seen up 48% to 56 MMT, with Ukraine's rebounding 40% to 22 MMT and Kazakhstan's forecast to increase 52% to 15 MMT. There are also increases for the EU (up 5% to 139 MMT), Canada (up 7% to 29 MMT), Australia (up 11% to 24.5 MMT) and Argentina (up 18% to 13 MMT). In other news, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange estimated the 2013/14 Argentine wheat area at 3.9 million hectares, up 8.3% from a year ago. There are still a few question marks around for global wheat before the USDA's record 701 MMT crop is assured however. "New South Wales wheat producers are complaining bitterly about drought. The soil moisture deficit in northern and central NSW has worsened to 150-300 mm since August 1, 2012. The southwest wheat growing area requires 75-150 mm of rainfall to fully re-charge soil profiles based on official data from the Bureau of Meteorology," say Martell Crop Projections. Meanwhile "Drought has worsened in the past month in European Russia, threatening winter grains and slowing spring grain planting in Ukraine, southern Russia and southeastern Europe. Unusually warm temperatures are making drought worse, enhancing evaporation and speeding soil drying," they add. May 13 CBOT Wheat closed at USD6.96 3/4, down 19 1/2 cents; May 13 KCBT Wheat closed at USD7.71 1/2, down 20 1/2 cents; May 13 MGEX Wheat closed at USD8.57 3/4, unchanged. On the week CBOT wheat was down 14 1/2 cents, Kansas fell 18 1/2 cents and Minneapolis was down 3/4 of a cent.

Corn: The corn market closed sharply higher despite disappointing weekly export sales of 115,800 MT of old crop and 169,900 MT of new crop falling short of trade expectations for sales of a combined 4-800 TMT. Old crop commitments are only 77% of the USDA target for the season. The ongoing delays to US corn planting provided the support, with some talk that this week won't see the big jump in progress that some had been expecting, with many farmers holding out for better field conditions. The hopes of many may be thwarted though as "the chance of rainfall today is near 100% in east Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois, extending deeper into the Mid South. Slow eastward movement of this storm would bring heavy rain Friday to Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, south through Kentucky into Tennessee. From 0.75 to 1.5 inches of rainfall is expected from this storm, but locally more in Illinois and western Indiana," say Martell Crop Projections. One Chinese analyst said that China’s corn planting is delayed by 15-20 days due to cold and wet weather, and that this may cause some switching into soybean plantings instead. They estimated production in Heilongjiang (China’s top corn producing state) at 23.0 MMT versus 27.0 MMT in 2012. IMEA estimated Brazil’s second corn crop at 40.6 MMT versus the 2012 second crop of 39.0 MMT. Conab estimated Brazil's total corn crop at 78.0 MMT versus a previous estimate of 77.45 MMT. MDA CropCast estimated the 2013 US corn crop at 337.9 MMT, up 30% on last year. A Bloomberg survey said almost 359 MMT. The trade is expecting the USDA to slightly lower US 2012/13 ending stocks from 757 million bushels to around 754 million tomorrow. New crop carryout is seen rising sharply to around 2 billion bushels. Fund buying in corn was estimated at 8-12,000 lots on the day. May 13 Corn closed at USD6.90 1/2, up 15 1/2 cents; Jul 13 Corn closed at USD6.45 1/4, up 12 1/4 cents.

Wheat: There may have been some short-covering in Chicago wheat today ahead of tomorrow's USDA report. Weekly export sales of 239,200 MT of old crop and 226,300 MT of new crop were in line with trade forecasts for combined sales of 3-800 TMT. Old crop commitments are now 94% of the USDA target for the season with only four weeks left to go. Conab estimated the 2013 Brazilian wheat crop at 5.4 MMT versus the 2012 estimate of 4.3 MMT. Brazil's wheat import needs in 2013/14 were estimated at 6.8 MMT versus 7.2 MMT in 2012/13 as production returns to more normal levels. India’s Ag Minister estimated India’s 2013 wheat crop at 93.62 MMT, with domestic demand at 76.0 MMT. Lanworth estimated the 2013/14 Australian wheat crop at 24.3 MMT versus a previous estimate of 25.0 MMT and the USDA's 2012/13 figure of 22.0 MMT. They pegged the Ukrainian wheat crop at 21.9 MMT this year versus a previous estimate of 23.3 MMT and 15.76 MMT from the USDA last year. The FAO said that world wheat production will rise 5.4% this year to 695 MMT, just below the 2011 record crop. They also said that corn production would reach a record 960 MMT, which is 10% up on last year led by a sharp rebound in output in the US. Trade estimates for tomorrow's USDA report have US all wheat production at just over the 2 billion bushel mark versus 2.27 billion in 2012. US 2012/13 ending stocks are seen unchanged from last month at 731 million bushels, from within a range of estimates of 681-747 million. Carryout for next season is seen at an average of 627 million bushels, from within a range of estimates of 486–726 million. World 2012/13 ending stocks are forecast falling to 181.5 MMT versus the USDA's April estimate of 182.26 MMT. Fund buying in CBOT wheat was estimated at around 4,000 contracts on the day. May 13 CBOT Wheat closed at USD7.13 3/4, up 17 cents; May 13 KCBT Wheat closed at USD7.81 1/2, up 9 3/4 cents; May 13 MGEX Wheat closed at USD8.57 3/4, unchanged.

Corn: As with soybeans nearby months were supported by the tight cash market. Weekly ethanol production came in at 843,000 barrels per day, down 14,000 bpd from last week. That may have been a function of lack of available corn supplies as much as anything else. Production needs to come in at around 868,000 bpd to meet the USDA's target for the season. The trade is expecting significant Midwest planting progress to have been made this week, versus only 12% as of Sunday night. "Rainfall has tapered off significantly in the past 2 weeks, but the past 30 days have been extremely wet with two to three times the normal rainfall. Soggy field conditions have continued, prohibiting planting in the low-lying areas especially. The wise producer would wait to plant until soils have drained sufficiently. Otherwise, corn would develop a shallow root system, increasing vulnerability to drought stress later on," say Martell Crop Projections. Two South Korean buyers bought 130,000 MT of South American corn for Jul/Aug shipment. The market is looking for 2012/13 US ending stocks to come in at 750 million bushels in Friday's USDA report, down from 757 million in April. The USDA will also release their first 2013/14 estimate with ending stocks projected to come in at 1.99 billion bushels, versus the USDA Outlook Forum estimate of 2.177 billion. Trade estimates for tomorrow's weekly export sales report for corn are 400-800,000 MT. Last week's sales were 329,300 MT of old crop and 656,000 MT of new crop. Funds were estimated to have been net sellers of around 6-7,000 corn contracts on the day. May 13 Corn closed at USD6.75, down 1 1/2 cents; Jul 13 Corn closed at USD6.33, down 7 cents.

Wheat: Wheat was lower early on but posted a mini recovery late in the session on what was probably a bit of short-covering ahead of Friday's USDA report. Planting delays continue to be supportive for spring wheat in Minneapolis. The trade is estimating 2013/14 US all wheat production to come in at 2.060 billion bushels on Friday versus 2.269 in 2012/13 and a little under the USDA Outlook Forum estimate of 2.100 billion. US ending stocks for 2013/14 are estimated at 656 million bushels versus the forum estimate of 639 million. Jordan bought 50 TMT of optional origin wheat in a tender for 150 TMT. Libya are tendering for 50 TMT each of both hard and soft wheat. Japan are tendering for 120 TMT of feed wheat and 200 TMT of feed barley for shipment by the end of August. Australia got some heavy rain in the west, the same front will push onto South Australia by the weekend and on into the east of the country early next week. That should improve planting conditions there. Ukraine and Russia are a bit dry. Canada, the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest are warming up this week, but there's still a chance of a frost Sunday/Monday morning, according to Martell Crop Projections. Winter wheat in Kansas has had potentially yield boosting 1-2 inch rains in the past 24 hours. Trade estimates for tomorrow's weekly export sales report are 3-800 TMT. Last week's sales came in at 219,200 MT of old crop and 497,300 MT of new crop. With only 4 weeks of the 2012/13 wheat marketing year left to run shipments plus outstanding sales are at 93% of the USDA's target for exports of 28.5 MMT this season. Funds were estimated to have sold 2,000 contracts of Chicago wheat on the day. May 13 CBOT Wheat closed at USD6.96 3/4, down 2 3/4 cents; May 13 KCBT Wheat closed at USD7.71 3/4, up 2 cents; May 13 MGEX Wheat closed at USD8.57 3/4, unchanged.

Corn: The corn market was mixed, with the trade anticipating good planting progress to be made in the US this week. Yesterday's weekly export inspections of only 6.5 million bushels were well below the 19.3 million needed to hit the USDA estimate for the season. The cumulative shipment pace is now 59% of the USDA export estimate for the season versus the 5 year average of 65%, suggesting that the USDA may possibly revise down their current estimate for exports of 800 million bushels in 2012/13. South Korea's Nofi bought 69 TMT of optional origin corn, most likely of South American origin for September shipment. Michael Cordonnier estimated the Brazilian corn crop at a record 75.0 MMT, unchanged from his previous estimate. He pegged the Argentine corn crop at 24.0 MMT, also unchanged from previously. The USDA's FAS said that Ukraine will produce 22 MMT of corn this year, up 5% on last year, with exports in 2013/14 rising 13% to 14 MMT. The Ukraine Ministry said that the country exported 1.19 MMT of grains in April, of which 960 TMT was corn. That takes the cumulative grain export total for the season so far to 20.6 MMT, of which 11.8 MMT is corn. The weekly US ethanol plant production report comes out tomorrow. Last week's grind of 857,000 barrels/day was the highest since last June. Most plants are said to be running at full capacity, so another strong week is expected. In Friday's upcoming USDA WASDE report the trade is expecting US 2012/13 corn ending stocks to be raised slightly from the current 757 million bushels to around 762 million. The average production estimate for 2013/14 comes at 14.120 billion bushels, up 31% on 10.78 billion bushels last year. Fund buying on the day was estimated at a net 4,000 contracts. May 13 Corn closed at USD6.76 1/2, down 2 1/4 cents; Jul 13 Corn closed at USD6.40, up 3 1/2 cents.

Wheat: Yesterday's weekly export inspections of 16.6 million bushels, were down sharply from 30.8 million the previous week and below the 24.7 million needed per week to reach the USDA export estimate for the season. The cumulative shipment pace is now sitting at 90% of the USDA estimate as compared with the 5-year average of 89% with only 4 weeks left in the marketing year. Turkey have tendered to sell 240 TMT of milling wheat for May-June shipment. The Iraq Trade Minister said that the country will lose 25-30% of their 2013 wheat crop due to floods in the south. Their annual wheat consumption is about 4.5 MMT and imports are normally around 3 MMT. Jordan bought 50 TMT of optional origin barley for August-September shipment, and tendered for 100 TMT of the same. Needed rain is said to be on the way for Western Australia. The east remains dry. Russia has sown 7% of it's spring wheat crop, rain is also wanted in the south of the country. The USDA's FAS estimated the Ukraine 2013 wheat crop at 22.6 MMT, up 43% on last year. They see exports rising 70% to 11 MMT. Wheat exports this season currently stand at 6.4 MMT. The USDA is likely to keep export demand unchanged in this Friday’s report it is thought, with no reason to change 2012/13 carryout either. They will also give their first estimate for 2013/14 production. The trade is estimating that at 2.060 billion bushels, down 9% from 2.269 in 2012/13. Funds were estimated as net buyers of around 2,000 CBOT wheat contracts on the day. May 13 CBOT Wheat closed at USD6.99 1/2, up 6 1/2 cents; May 13 KCBT Wheat closed at USD7.69 3/4, up 1 cent; May 13 MGEX Wheat closed at USD8.57 3/4, up 6 3/4 cents.