Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell to multi-year lows on Tuesday, pressured by strength in the dollar and better crop conditions than last year in the Plains, analysts said.
Soybean and corn futures declined for a sixth straight session, with the most-active May contracts in both markets falling to multi-week lows.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, May wheat settled down 7-1/4 cents at $4.46 per bushel after dipping to $4.45-1/2 (all figures US$), a contract low and the lowest price for a most-active contract since June 2010.
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Fundamentally, global wheat ending stocks for 2015-16 are projected to reach an all-time high, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has said, while U.S. wheat exports are forecast at a 44-year low.
A strong dollar has made U.S. grains less attractive to those holding other currencies. The dollar set a one-month high against the euro after U.S. manufacturing data appeared to stabilize in February.
Monthly crop reports released by USDA late Monday showed crop condition ratings in Kansas, the top U.S. winter wheat producer, improved in February. While ratings fell in several other states, winter wheat was in better shape than a year ago in Oklahoma and Montana, the No. 3 and 4 winter wheat states last year.
“Crop conditions are some of the best we’ve seen in Lord knows how long. When was the last time you saw a rating for Oklahoma wheat as high as it is now, even though it did come down (from last month)?” asked Tom Fritz, a partner with EFG Group in Chicago.
USDA rated 68 per cent of Oklahoma’s winter wheat as good to excellent at the end of February.
CBOT May soybeans settled down three cents at $8.58 a bushel after touching $8.57, the contract’s lowest since Jan. 6, and May corn ended down 1-1/4 cents at $3.55-3/4 a bushel, its lowest since Jan. 12.
Commerzbank said in a market update that demand for U.S. corn looked set to fall short of supply in the coming 2016-17 crop year and the stocks-to-use ratio could climb to its highest level in 11 years.
“There can be no talk of any risk of tight corn, wheat or soybean supply. As such, prices will remain low for the foreseeable future,” Commerzbank said.
CBOT soyoil futures fell sharply at midsession as the May contract fell enough to trigger stop-loss sell orders resting at 30.7 cents/lb., traders said. The contract plunged to 30.11 cents before paring losses to settle at 30.54 cents, down 0.33 cent on the day.
— Julie Ingwersen is a Reuters correspondent covering grain markets from Chicago. Additional reporting for Reuters by Nigel Hunt in London and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
