Chicago | Reuters — U.S. new-crop corn and soybean futures fell on Tuesday to their lowest in more than a week, pressured by forecasts for much-needed rains in the Midwest where crops have been deteriorating under dry conditions, analysts said.
Wheat futures tumbled more than five per cent as worries subsided about political instability in Russia, the world’s top wheat exporter, and the Northern Hemisphere winter wheat harvest progressed.
Chicago Board of Trade December corn settled down 27-1/4 cents, or 4.6 per cent, at $5.61 per bushel after dipping to $5.55, its lowest since June 15 (all figures US$).
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U.S. grains: Wheat futures rise on supply snags in top-exporter Russia
U.S. wheat futures closed higher on Thursday on concerns over the limited availability of supplies for export in Russia, analysts said.
CBOT November soybeans ended down 28-3/4 cents, or 2.2 per cent, at $12.94-1/4 a bushel and September wheat fell 39-1/4 cents, or 5.3 per cent, to finish at $6.99 a bushel.
Forecasts for rain in the Corn Belt later this week and next week tempered concerns about dry weather that has stressed crops this month.
“Probably the best rain event is coming at us since April. The real question mark for the trade is, do we have a weather pattern change going on, or is this an interlude? We are still going to need regular rains,” said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities.
The condition of U.S. corn and soybean crops has deteriorated to the worst in decades, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed on Monday. USDA rated 50 per cent of the U.S. corn crop and 51 per cent of the soybean crop as good to excellent, down from 55 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively, last week. The ratings were the lowest for this time of year since 1988, a year of historic drought.
As weather outlooks lifted optimism about supplies, questions about demand for U.S. grains lingered, given stiff global competition for export business.
“Brazil’s harvest is going to be coming at us, beating us to the punch,” Roose said.
Similarly, in the wheat market, the focus turned back towards competitive prices in Russia after jitters caused by the weekend mutiny by the Wagner militia fuelled an early rally on Monday.
The European Union’s crop monitoring service MARS on Monday forecast Russia’s wheat production this year at 86.7 million metric tonnes, underlining expectations for an above-average crop.
“Russia has the cheapest (wheat) in the world. They continue to sell it below the world market,” Roose said.
— Reporting for Reuters by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
