Chicago | Reuters—Chicago corn futures weakened on Thursday and soybeans struck fresh contract lows as Brazil and China came together for significant agricultural trade deals and weather in South America remained beneficial for both crops, analysts said.
Wheat also eased, although fears of an escalating war in the Black Sea breadbasket region limited declines following reports that Russia had fired intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) on Ukraine.
Most soybean contracts touched life-of-contract lows as a series of trade deals between Brazil and China signaled a closer relationship that could be detrimental to U.S. soybean demand, said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities.
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Beneficial crop weather in South America stoked expectations for large corn and soy harvests, analysts said.
Fears that tariffs proposed by the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would spark another trade war with China also weighed, said Jim McCormick, co-founder of AgMarket.Net.
“I think the market is still unnerved about the new president’s administration,” said McCormick. “If you look at it historically, tariffs just don’t really work out well for American agriculture.”
Wheat retained some support as Ukraine’s air force claimed that Russia launched ICBMs during an attack on the country Thursday, which would be the first known use in the war of powerful weapons designed to deliver nuclear strikes thousands of kilometers away.
The signs of military escalation have revived market fears about Black Sea exports, though price reaction has been tempered by the absence of immediate disruption to shipping.
The most-active wheat contract on the CBOT Wv1settled down 2-3/4 cents at $5.69-1/2 per bushel.
CBOT soybeans Sv1fell 12-3/4 to finish at $9.77-3/4 a bushel, while corn Cv1closed down 3-1/2 cents at $4.26-3/4 per bushel.
—Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra
