CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade corn futures edged lower on Tuesday, consolidating below a decade high reached earlier, as traders assessed risks to global supply from the war in Ukraine and a slow start to planting in the United States.
Wheat futures also turned lower, with profit-taking pressuring the markets, traders said.
The most actively traded corn contract was down 5-1/4 cents at $8.01-3/4 a bushel by 11:30 a.m. CDT (1630 GMT), after reaching $8.14 a bushel, the highest price since September 2012. The all-time high for a most-active contract was $8.49 in August 2012.
Chilly weather that is slowing the start of US corn plantings has supported prices, analysts said. The market is particularly sensitive to potential problems for the US corn crop as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stalled massive Ukrainian grain exports.
“Certainly any improvement in the weather in the US Midwest will prompt some profit taking as well,” said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage in Iowa. US corn planting was 4% complete as of Sunday, below the five-year average of 6%, the US Department of Agriculture said in a weekly report on Monday. Analysts surveyed by Reuters were expecting 5%.
The crop report also underscored drought risks to the US wheat crop that could exacerbate a shortfall in supply from Ukraine.
The USDA rated 30% of US winter wheat in good-to-excellent condition, down two percentage points from a week ago. The rating was below an average of analyst expectations and the lowest for this time of year since 1996.
CBOT wheat was down 16-1/4 cents at $11.12-1/2 a bushel. CBOT soybeans , meanwhile, were up 5 cents at $16.98-1/4 a bushel, underpinned by strong domestic and export demand for US beans.—Reuters
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