Wheat eases for 2nd day, soybean prices firm after 3-day decline

SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat prices slid for a second session on Monday, pressured by abundant global supply.

Soybeans edged higher as the market rebounded on bargain-buying after hitting a two-week low in the previous session, while corn dipped.

The Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat contract fell 0.7 percent to $4.29-3/4 a bushel by 0337 GMT, having closed down 0.2 percent on Friday.

Soybeans rose 0.2 percent to $9.64-1/2 a bushel, after ending down 0.3 percent on Friday when prices dropped to their weakest since May 1 at $9.60-1/2 a bushel.

Corn eased 0.1 percent to $3.70-3/4 a bushel, having gained 0.5 percent in the previous session.

"All the talk about lower planting in the United States and then storm damage have had limited impact on wheat supplies," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist, National Australia Bank.

"We don't see much upside to prices as there are plenty of supplies. Look at the Black Sea region, a lot of supplies are coming out."

The US Department of Agriculture has estimated global wheat stocks at the end of the crop year in June 2018 at a record 258.29 million tonnes.

For corn, Informa Economics lowered its projection of US 2017 plantings to 89.7 million acres, trade sources said, below the USDA's March 31 figure of 90.0 million acres.

Informa raised its forecast of US 2017 soybean plantings to 89.662 million acres, above the USDA's March figure of 89.5 million acres.

Brazil's statistics agency Conab on Thursday raised its estimate of the country's 2016-17 crop to a record of 113 million tonnes, from 110.2 million last month.

Large speculators increased their net short position in CBOT corn futures in the week to May. 9, regulatory data released on Friday showed.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, trimmed their net short position in CBOT wheat and trimmed their net short position in soybeans.