MarketsFarm — Corn and soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade have moved off of highs hit earlier in May as good planting conditions in the U.S. Midwest weighed on values.

“We’re pretty much in a weather market right now,” Scott Capinegro of Barrington Commodity Brokers in Illinois said.

He expected solid prices for both crops and good planting weather would see total soybean and corn acres in the country end up above early expectations.

“You look at the map, and someone is getting rain all of the time,” said Capinegro, noting that while there are still problem areas in the Dakotas and other northern states, the weather is generally favourable for crop development.

“If we don’t have any weather scares, the year highs are in,” he said.

However, he added, there may also not be much room to the downside, with plenty of opportunities for rallies as Chinese demand remains strong and Brazil’s second corn crop continues to be downgraded.

Renewed economic optimism, as pandemic restrictions ease across the U.S., should also provide support.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.