Weekly Grain Movement – Mixed but mostly lowerWeekly Grain Movement – Mixed but mostly lower

The latest batch of grain export inspection data from USDA, out Monday morning and covering thew week through January 20, didn’t have a lot of bullish data for traders to digest. Wheat volume did improve slightly versus the prior week, but corn and soybeans each saw moderate declines.

Corn export inspections totaled 43.9 million bushels last week, sliding 10% below the prior week’s tally. It was also on the lower end of trade estimates, which ranged between 35.4 million and 63.0 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2021/22 marketing year are still moderately below last year’s pace, with 647.1 million bushels.

China was the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn export inspections last week, with 13.7 million bushels. Japan was a close second, with 13.4 million bushels. Mexico, Colombia and Honduras rounded out the top five.

Sorghum export inspections fell by nearly half week-over-week, landing at 3.0 million bushels. That grain is largely bound for China, with Mexico picking up the modest remainder. Cumulative totals for the 2021/22 marketing year remain moderately behind last year’s pace, with 84.6 million bushels.

Soybean export inspections trended moderately lower week-over-week, with 47.7 million bushels. Analysts were generally expecting a larger haul, with trade guesses ranging between 44.1 million and 69.8 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2021/22 marketing year are still lagging well behind last year’s pace, with 1.277 billion bushels.

China was again by far the No. 1 destination for U.S. soybean export inspections last week, with 23.5 million bushels. Italy, Mexico, Germany and Japan filled out the top five.

Wheat export inspections firmed 4.3% from a week ago, reaching 14.7 million bushels. That was also on the higher end of trade estimates, which ranged between 9.2 million and 16.5 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2021/22 marketing year are still moderately below last year’s pace, with 485.7 million bushels.

The Philippines topped all destinations for U.S. wheat export inspections last week, with 4.5 million bushels. Nigeria, Ethiopia, Guatemala and Jamaica rounded out the top five.

Click here to read more from the latest USDA grain export inspection report.