Mark's Market Talk for April 21, 2025

Slow news week equaled some lower markets last week for nearby grains. May corn was down 8 cents, while May beans were down 6 cents. New crop prices finished the week higher with December corn up 2 cents and November beans up 7 cents. The US planting pace will become the prime mover for the next month. While the western corn belt is making good progress, the south and east have been battling wet weather. The weather has turned kind to Brazil’s second crop corn which is bearish to our markets as they may have more corn to sell later this summer. Tariff talks remain on the front burner with most countries using a 90-day reprieve to negotiate better terms. Most of these countries have been imposing tariffs on our products for years. The threat of retaliatory tariffs now has them reconsidering their policies. The US has not been tariff free either as they have been used to protect different products and industries for years. China is a cat of a different color and there is still a lot of push and shove going on.  The idea that countries pay tariffs is not true as the citizens of both countries pay for the tariffs in higher product costs. It might be a long and volatile summer as all these issues are hashed out.