SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat futures slid for a third consecutive session on Monday with prices under pressure from improved outlook for the US winter crop and ample world supplies.
Soybeans rose after closing lower on Friday although gains were checked by uncertainty over US-China trade agreement, while corn gained ground with support from planting delays in the US Midwest.
The Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat contract slid 0.4 percent to $4.65-3/4 a bushel by 0319 GMT while soybeans rose 0.4 percent to $9.03 a bushel. Corn added 0.1 percent to $3.63 a bushel.
"The wheat market is under pressure as supplies look pretty good overall," said Phin Ziebell, an agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank.
"The USDA crop report will be interesting," Ziebell said, referring to the weekly crop condition report.
Last week, in its first crop condition report for this year, the USDA assessed 56 percent of US winter wheat in good-to-excellent condition, up from 32 percent a year ago and topping trade expectations of 55 percent.
US President Donald Trump on Friday would not predict that a trade deal with China will be reached, even though talks are moving along very well with China. On Thursday, Trump had said that a deal could be announced within four weeks.
US and Chinese negotiators wrapped up their latest round of trade talks on Friday and are scheduled to resume discussions this week to try to secure a pact that would end a tariff battle that has roiled global markets.
The two sides offered few details of the progress.
The sale of Brazilian soybeans has lagged due to a fall in port premiums, raising the prospect for a lack of storage space for the country's winter corn, which is planted after the oilseeds are harvested, according to analysts.
Weather forecasters were predicting that a storm, bringing rain and maybe even snow in some places, will hit the US Midwest this week, further delaying corn planting.
Large speculators increased their net short position in CBOT corn futures in the week to April 2, regulatory data released on Friday showed.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments of traders report also showed that non-commercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, trimmed their net short position in CBOT wheat and increased their net short position in soybeans.
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