By Joe Hoppe
A roundup of key agricultural commodity markets for the week June 2-6 by Dow Jones Newswires in Barcelona.
GRAINS & OILSEEDS: The macro mood is mixed as tariff uncertainty drives market volatility.
Risk assets like agricultural commodities were broadly rangebound towards the end of last week, after a federal appeals court allowed President Trump's administration a temporary reprieve from a trade court ruling that his so-called "reciprocal" tariffs were illegal.
Friday will see the release of Nonfarm Payroll data. Expectations are for a low number of jobs added, as investors watch closely for signs that the labor market is softening from tariffs and trade uncertainty, Peak Trading analysts said in a note. Weaker jobs data on Friday would translate into a more dovish Federal Reserve and therefore a weaker U.S. dollar--a boon for dollar-denominated commodities.
Meanwhile, the United States Department of Agriculture's latest crop report said corn condition scores were below expectations and planting has been delayed in Ohio, bullish news for traders. That said, weather forecasts across the rest of the Corn Belt look ideal and extended forecasts are warm and wet, ideal for early crop development.
Hedge funds have largely been in a selling mood over the last six weeks, particularly in corn. This reflects generally good weather and very few planting or early production concerns, and risk premia is low, Peak Trading says.
Chicago wheat futures are up 1.6% at $5.43 a bushel on Monday, while corn is up 0.1% on $4.45 a bushel. Soybean prices are down 0.5% at $10.37 a bushel.
SOFT COMMODITIES: Agricultural softs have broadly sold off over the last week of trading, with cocoa, coffee and sugar seeing losses.
Cocoa has fallen nearly 3.2% over the last week, though it remains up 6.4% on-month in thin trading. Bullish cocoa sentiment had been fueled by concerns over weather conditions in West Africa, which are hitting the size and quality of the ongoing harvest.
Sugar prices are down 1.6% on-month and appear cheap when looking at fundamentals, JPMorgan analysts say in a note. Technical trading indicators show the selloff is starting to show signs of exhaustion and Brazilian sugarcane industry association UNICA's latest report for the second half of May shows sugar production down around 23% on-year, JPM says.
On Monday, cocoa is down 3.7% at $9,426.0 a metric ton, while coffee is up 0.8% at $3.45 a pound. Sugar is down 0.65% at $0.17 a pound.
Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 02, 2025 12:26 ET (16:26 GMT)
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