Wheat eases for 4th session, soybeans up on Argentina dryness

SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat futures slid for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, hitting the lowest in more than two weeks as abundant supplies weighed on the market, with the latest data from Canada showing higher than expected production.

Soybean edged higher, rising for a fourth session out of five as concerns over dryness in Argentina supported the market.

The decline in wheat was unsurprising given slow US exports, said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

"The catalyst seems to have been a higher estimate of Canada's wheat crop by the local official statistician," he said. "The estimate was the best part of 10 percent higher than where analysts were pegging the number, so it was a big shock."

Canadian farmers harvested larger crops than expected this autumn, reaping record-large canola output and a surprisingly big wheat crop, a Statistics Canada report showed on Wednesday.

Canola production topped 21.3 million tonnes, 8 percent higher than Statscan's September estimate. The all-wheat harvest at 30 million tonnes exceeded Statscan's previous estimate by 10.5 percent.

The Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat contract fell 0.1 percent to $4.24-3/4 a bushel by 0256 GMT after dropping earlier in the session to $4.23-1/2 a bushel, the weakest since Nov. 21.

Soybeans added 0.1 percent to $10.03-1/2 a bushel and corn was unmoved at $3.52-3/4 bushel.

Worries about dry weather in Argentina are propelling soybeans higher with the market climbing to a four-month high on Tuesday.

The drought that set in around the start of the Southern Hemisphere springtime in parts of the central farm belt threatens late-season soybean and corn planting and the development of already sown crops.

Production of corn-based ethanol hit record rates of 1.108 million barrels per day, according to the US Energy Information Administration, underlining robust demand for corn.

Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT soybean, soymeal, wheat, corn and soyoil futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said.