SINGAPORE/PARIS: Chicago wheat futures rose on Friday after four consecutive sessions of losses as bargain-buying supported prices amid uncertainty over the renewal of the Black Sea grain export deal, although expectations of ample global supplies capped gains.
Soybeans rose, while corn ticked higher as slowing US exports kept a lid on prices.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) added 1.2% to $6.35 a bushel by 1030 GMT. Soybeans rose 0.7% to $14.14-3/4 a bushel and corn inched up 0.1% to $5.83 a bushel.
Falling demand for US supplies is weighing on prices. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Thursday that weekly export sales of corn totalled just 340,400 tonnes.
The USDA will release its closely watched monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report on Friday, which will include forecasts for the 2023/24 marketing year for the first time.
Analysts were expecting the report to show that supplies of corn and soybeans will rise sharply in the coming year. In the wheat market, talks over the Black Sea export deal allowing the safe passage of Ukraine grain remain centre stage, even though plentiful global supplies kept a lid on prices.
“In the short term, wheat prices should remain supported by the risks surrounding the grains deal between Russia and Ukraine,” Commerzbank said in a note on Friday.
Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Friday parties to the grain pact were nearing a deal to extend it beyond a May 18 deadline after talks between Ukrainian, Russian, Turkish and United Nations officials.
“So far, the market appears relaxed because both sides are still willing at least to negotiate,” Commerzbank added.
Conab, Brazil’s food supply and statistics agency, has raised its forecast for Brazilian soybean and corn production, citing favourable conditions in spite of the effects of the La Niña weather pattern, which caused drought in the south of the country early in the season.
In its May forecast report released on Thursday, Conab predicted Brazilian farmers will harvest a record 154.8 million tonnes of soybeans, 23.3% more than in the previous season, and a record 125.5 million tonnes of corn, 11% above last year.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, wheat and soyoil futures contracts on Thursday, traders said. They were net buyers of soymeal, and net even in soybeans.
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