Chicago | Reuters—U.S. soybean futures fell to a 1-1/2 week low on Tuesday as China continued to shun purchases from the United States and as forecasts for improved rains in the coming days reinforced expectations for a sizeable Midwest harvest.
Corn futures were mixed as traders returned from the long U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend. Losses were limited by concerns that pockets of yield-sapping disease and dry conditions in parts of the Midwest farm belt would trim yields as farmers prepare to harvest a record-large crop this autumn.
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U.S. grains: Corn slips from six-week high, soybeans down on China demand worries
U.S. corn futures fell from a six-week peak on Wednesday on profit-taking and technical selling after three sessions of gains as an expected record-large U.S. harvest weighed on the market.
Wheat futures dropped, pressured by ample supplies from Northern Hemisphere harvests and a rebound in the U.S. dollar index from a five-week low.
Grain traders have been weighing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest forecasts for record-large U.S. corn and soybean yields against scattered reports of disease pressure and drought-hit fields, while also monitoring forecasts for rain this week that could aid late-developing crops.
Strong export demand has kept a floor under the corn market, but a lack of new-crop soybean purchases by China and slow progress in securing a U.S.-China trade deal have kept soy futures under pressure.
“I think we have this decided shift pre-holiday versus post-holiday today. Friday, we had a corn-led rally and today we have a soy-led decline,” said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics. He cited the lack of positive news in U.S.-China trade negotiations that concluded over the weekend.
Beijing’s hosting this week of non-Western leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has underscored its geopolitical opposition to the United States.
Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans SX25 settled 13-1/2 cents lower at $10.41 a bushel, while December corn CZ25 ended 2-3/4 cents higher at $4.23 a bushel.
CBOT December wheat WZ25 fell 6 cents to $5.28-1/4 a bushel, on abundant supplies from exporters including Australia and Russia.
—Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
