Market News & Headlines >> U.S. Corn Export Sales Edging Higher

After a sluggish start, U.S. corn export sales have started to pick up despite continued competition from South America and the Black Sea region.

U.S. corn export sales rose for the third week in a row during the week ended Nov. 27 and corn, soybean and soymeal sales all topped trade expectations, providing some demand support for prices.

USDA pegged weekly U.S. corn export sales at 46.1 million bushels, up from the previous week’s 35.7 million and above trade expectations that ranged from 23.5-33.5 million. Mexico was the leading buyer of U.S. corn on the week, purchasing roughly 12 million bushels, followed by Japan, Peru and South Korea.

Actual weekly export shipments of corn were 29.4 million bushels, up from 24.3 million a week earlier.

Weekly soybean export sales came in at 43.3 million bushels, down from the previous week’s 54.7 million, but above trade expectations that ran 21-35 million. Soymeal sales came in at 226,800 metric tons compared with the previous week’s net sales cancellations of 22,300 tons.

Not surprisingly, China was the leading buyer of U.S. soybeans, purchasing 28.2 million bushels, although that total included 11.8 million bushels previously reported sold to unknown destination. Germany, Taiwan and the Netherlands were the next largest buyers. The Philippines was the leading purchaser of U.S. soymeal, followed by Mexico and Italy.

Actual soybean export shipments remained strong on the week at 74.8 million bushels, although they were down significantly from the week-earlier total of 102.2 million.

Weekly wheat export sales slipped to 11.9 million bushels, including 11.7 million for the current marketing year, from the previous week’s 18.3 million bushels. Actual wheat export shipments were 16.5 million bushels, down from 19.0 million a week earlier.