USDA’s latest set of grain export inspection data, out Monday morning and covering the week through February 22, contained mixed but mostly bullish data for traders to digest. Corn led the way, moving moderately higher week-over-week and exceeding the entire range of trade guesses. Wheat volume also made moderate weekly improvements, while soybeans trended moderately below the prior week’s volume.

Corn export inspections trended 18% higher week-over-week after reaching 48.9 million bushels. That was also better than the entire set of analyst estimates, which ranged between 21.7 million and 45.3 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2023/24 marketing year remain moderately ahead of last year’s pace so far, with 767.5 million bushels.

Mexico was the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn export inspections last week, with 17.4 million bushels. Japan, Colombia, South Korea and El Salvador rounded out the top five.

Sorghum export inspections faded noticeably lower week-over-week to 5.0 million bushels. All of that grain is bound for China. Cumulative totals for the 2023/24 marketing year are still well above last year’s pace so far, with 126.2 million bushels.

Soybean export inspections trended moderately below the prior week’s pace after reaching 35.8 million bushels. That was slightly toward the higher end of analyst estimates, which ranged between 22.0 million and 47.8 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2023/24 marketing year are still tracking moderately below last year’s pace so far after reaching 1.214 billion bushels.

China was the No. 1 destination for U.S. soybean export inspections last week, with 22.0 million bushels. Germany, Mexico, South Korea and Japan filled out the top five.

Wheat export inspections made moderate week-over-week improvements after reaching 17.7 million bushels. That was also toward the higher end of analyst estimates, which ranged between 9.2 million and 19.3 million bushels. Cumulative totals for the 2023/24 marketing year are still moderately lower than last year’s pace so far, with 463.4 million bushels.

Japan was the No. 1 destination for U.S. export inspections, with 3.0 million bushels. Mexico, the Philippines, China and Egypt rounded out the top five.

Click here for more highlights from the latest USDA grain export inspection report, which covers the week through February 22.