Chicago | Reuters—Chicago wheat futures slipped to a five-year low on Wednesday, while corn set contract lows for the third session in a row as ample global supply hung over grain markets.
Massive global supplies of wheat from recent harvests in the United States and Black Sea have flooded the market, while strong export competition and a lack of supply shortfalls have pushed prices to lows, analysts said.
The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Wv1 ended 1/4 cent higher at $5.08-1/2 a bushel, recovering after hitting $5.04 a bushel, its lowest point since August 2020.
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CBOT most-active corn Cv1 fell 3/4 cent to close at $4.01-1/4 per bushel, rebounding after breaking through the psychological $4 floor.
Tumbling corn futures have also exerted spillover pressure on the wheat market as producers turn to lower-priced corn to feed poultry and livestock instead of wheat.
“Wheat is searching for demand,” Brian Basting, analyst at Advance Trading, said.
Private estimates for massive U.S. corn yields and trade expectations that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will revise its yield estimates higher have weighed heavily on corn futures.
“You can almost be sure that the USDA will give you a big number too,” Tom Fritz, broker at EFG Group, said.
The USDA on Monday issued condition ratings that showed U.S. corn conditions were at their highest in nine years, reinforcing the prospect of a bumper U.S. harvest as crops emerge from the crucial pollination period.
A big second corn crop in Brazil is already flowing onto the market ahead of the autumn U.S. harvest.
Weakening soymeal futures dragged down the whole soy complex on Wednesday as lackluster demand and a large supply of soymeal hung over the market.
CBOT soybeans Sv1 settled 6-1/4 cents lower to $9.84-1/2 per bushel.
—Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra.
