Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybeans fell on Tuesday as above-average crop scouting during a Midwest tour outweighed hot, dry weather in U.S. growing belts.
Corn was also pressured by promising early crop tour results, but found support in a recent spate of export sales.
Wheat ended higher as global demand remains strong, though an unexpected decline in U.S. spring wheat conditions added supply risk pressure.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 15-3/4 cents to $13.46 a bushel (all figures US$).
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CBOT wheat added two cents to $6.27-1/2 a bushel, while corn dipped three cents to $4.79-1/2 a bushel.
Ohio corn yield prospects and soybean pod counts are above last year and higher than the three-year average, scouts on an annual tour of top U.S. production states found on Monday.
“If we have better day one stuff, people are going to assume it for day two. So I think that’s why we have the selling today because they’re trying to get ahead of it,” said Joe Davis, director of commodity sales at Futures International.
However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s crop ratings, released after Monday’s close, fell below expectations.
For soybeans, 59 per cent of crops were rated good to excellent, below the average analyst expectation of 60 per cent.
Corn fell one percentage point to 58 per cent, versus an average expectation that the rating would be unchanged.
The spring wheat rating dropped by four points to 38 per cent, against an expectation it would also be unchanged.
Crops in central U.S. crop belts are facing sweltering temperatures amid limited rainfall.
“Four days of terrific heat, that’s pushing the crop to maturity. We know that, when you push a crop to maturity, that’s usually at the expense of yield,” said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities.
Losses in corn were muted by a third consecutive day of U.S. corn export sales to Mexico.
The wheat market was bolstered by demand optimism, after Egypt bought 60,000 metric tonnes of Romanian wheat on Tuesday.
Competition from Russian exports has curbed wheat prices in recent months and offset worries about war disruption to Ukrainian supplies.
— Reporting for Reuters by Christopher Walljasper; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
