Chicago corn, wheat set for weekly losses on US export worries

SINGAPORE: Chicago corn futures lost ground on Friday and the market was set to end the week in negative territory on concerns over US exports following damage to grain terminals from Hurricane Ida.

Wheat and soybeans are poised for a drop this week after last week's gains.

"The US market is being weighed down by exports getting hit as a result of Ida," said one Singapore-based grains trader.

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) lost 0.4% to $5.23-1/2 a bushel by 0355 GMT. Corn is down 5.5% for the week.

Wheat futures are down around 2% for the week and soybeans have given up 2.8%.

Grain shippers reported more damage from Ida to their terminals as Cargill Inc confirmed damage to a second facility, while power outages across southern Louisiana kept all others shuttered.

However, strong export demand limited the decline in prices.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported export sales of US soybeans in the week to Aug. 26 at more than 2 million tonnes, topping a range of trade expectations.

Attention is turning to the USDA's Sept. 10 monthly supply and demand estimates. The report is drawing added interest after the USDA said it would review corn and soybean acreage figures for the publication, a month earlier than usual.

Commodity brokerage StoneX raised its estimate of the average US 2021 corn yield to 177.5 bushels per acre (bpa), from 176.9 in its previous monthly report. The firm raised its forecast of the US 2021 soybean yield to 50.8 bpa, from its Aug. 3 figure of 50.0.

Widespread rains over the last 24 hours across Argentina's main farming regions have brought relief to wheat farmers ahead of the 2021/2022 harvest, improving production prospects after a drier than normal winter in the South American nation, a climate expert said on Thursday.

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