Wheat up for 2nd day on tightening supplies, corn faces harvest pressure

SINGAPORE/PARIS: Chicago wheat futures rose for a second session on Wednesday as tightening world supplies came back in focus after the market dropped to a one-month low on fund selling.

Corn was little changed, trading near a six-week low on forecasts of a record US crop, while soybeans edged higher after Tuesday's deep losses.

The Chicago Board of Trade's most-active wheat contract added 1.2 percent to $5.29-1/2 a bushel by 1109 GMT, having closed marginally higher on Tuesday.

Corn was virtually unchanged at $3.56-1/2 a bushel, after touching its lowest since July 16 at $3.55-3/4 a bushel in earlier trade. Soybeans were up 0.1 percent at $8.33-3/4 a bushel, having closed down 1.7 percent on Tuesday.

"The push to sell Russian wheat before any export restrictions and investors liquidating their long positions has weighed on the wheat market, but we don't see a downside from here as global supplies are tightening," said Ole Houe, director of advisory services at brokerage IKON Commodities in Sydney.

"Wheat prices are likely to move higher from here, but corn still has harvest pressure coming. US corn is the cheapest feedgrain in the world."

Russian consultancy IKAR lowered its estimate of Russia's 2018 wheat harvest to 69.6 million tonnes from 70.8 million tonnes previously. The firm left its Russian wheat export estimate unchanged at 32.5 million tonnes.

Importers are returning to the market after the drop in wheat prices. Egypt's main state wheat buyer purchased 350,000 tonnes of wheat in an international tender, including 290,000 tonnes of Russian origin and 60,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat.

Soybeans are under pressure due to expectations of an all-time high US crop at a time of a trade dispute with top buyer China which has clouded export prospects.

The Pro Farmer advisory service last week projected 2018 US soybean production at a record 4.683 billion bushels, topping the US Department of Agriculture's forecast for 4.586 billion bushels.

Pro Farmer also projected US corn yield of 177.3 bushels per acre, below the USDA's forecast of 178.4 but still a record high, if realised.

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