Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures ended mixed on Tuesday after a technical and bargain-buying bounce from three-week lows faded as dull demand for U.S. exports overshadowed concerns about Argentina’s drought-reduced harvest.
Soybeans ended mostly lower while wheat fell to its lowest in 15 months on good global supplies and weak demand for U.S. shipments.
Grain traders are squaring positions ahead of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop data on Thursday.
Chicago Board of Trade March corn settled up 2-1/4 cents at $6.55 a bushel after earlier touching a three-week low of $6.48-1/4 (all figures US$). The benchmark contract broke through technical chart resistance at its 20- and 30-day moving averages but buying stalled as prices failed to rise above the 50-day moving average.
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March soybeans were 3-1/2 cents lower at $14.85 a bushel. CBOT March wheat ended 10-1/2 cents lower at $7.31 a bushel after hitting a low of $7.20-1/2 earlier in the session, the lowest for a most active contract since October 2021.
“Corn has been beaten down pretty good since the beginning of the year and it was bound for a little technical buying and bargain shopping,” said Terry Reilly, senior commodities analyst with Futures International.
“We’re also seeing some positioning across the board ahead of the USDA report,” he said.
USDA is expected to cut its corn and soy production outlook for drought-hit Argentina but also raise its estimate of U.S. grain and soybean supplies.
Hot, dry weather is expected across Argentina’s crop belt over the next 10 days, adding stress on an already drought-diminished crop, according to a Commodity Weather Group forecast.
Sluggish export demand has weighed on U.S. grain markets, particularly wheat, amid strong competition in the global market and large crops around the world. Production in India could hit an all-time high, traders said.
— Reporting for Reuters by Karl Plume in Chicago; additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris.
