Chicago | Reuters—Chicago Board of Trade soybeans and corn futures on Monday dropped to around the lowest prices in four years, as traders expected a positive picture of U.S. crop progress from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a report due later in the day.
Traders expected only isolated crop damage from a recent spate of hail, heavy rainfall and extreme flooding across parts of the western Corn Belt, not widespread problems, said Angie Setzer, partner at Consus Ag.
“Traders continue to repeat the adage ‘rain makes grain,'” she said.
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Both old-crop July CN24 and September CU24 corn contracts dropped below the key psychological level of $4 per bushel, while the most-active soybean contract Sv1 slumped to the lowest price seen since November 2020.
Wheat futures also turned sharply lower, amid market expectations that recent dry, hot weather will enable good U.S. harvesting progress.
“The USDA crop report later today is likely to show positive progress with U.S. wheat harvesting,” said Matt Ammermann, StoneX commodity risk manager.
Strength in the U.S. dollar also cast a bearish pall over grain and soybean futures, as a stronger dollar tends to make U.S. commodities less attractive on the export market.
Wheat futures also turned sharply lower on expectations that recent dry, hot weather will enable good U.S. harvesting progress.
Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat Wv1 settled the day down 20 cents at $5.70-1/2 a bushel. Corn Cv1 ended down 16-1/4 cents to $4.07-3/4 a bushel, and soybeans Sv1 fell 30-1/4 cents to $10.99-1/2 a bushel.
Weather has improved in major exporters Russia, the United States and Canada in recent weeks, and an abundance of corn is also dragging on wheat prices, said Rabobank analyst Vitor Pistoia.
—Additional reporting for Reuters by Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Peter Hobson in Canberra.
