Corn faces biggest annual loss in a decade; wheat, soybeans down

SINGAPORE: Chicago corn was on track for its biggest annual drop in a decade on Friday, while wheat lost a fifth of its value, as easing supply bottlenecks in the Black Sea region and higher production added pressure on prices.

Soybeans were poised for their first annual decline in five years amid plentiful supplies from top exporter Brazil.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) has fallen more than 20% in 2023, while corn is down over 30%. Soybeans have lost almost 14% this year, the biggest annual fall since 2015.

Grain and oilseed prices, which rallied for the past several years, were pressured in 2023, as easing food supply worries on the opening of a new shipping corridor in the Black Sea region boosted shipments from war-torn Ukraine amid higher Russian output.

Soybeans are being weighed down by record supplies from No. 1 exporter Brazil.

Wheat edged up 0.1% at $6.32-1/4 a bushel, as of 0525 GMT on Friday, while corn added 0.1% to 4.74-3/4 a bushel and soybeans gained 0.3% at $13.15-1/2 a bushel.

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In 2024, consumers could face tighter supplies amid adverse El Nino weather, export restrictions and higher biofuel mandates.

Any disruptions to Black Sea supplies are likely to support prices.

A bulk carrier headed to a River Danube port to load grain hit a Russian mine in the Black Sea on Wednesday, injuring two crew members, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

For Brazil, weather charts showed uneven showers in the week ahead in dry parts of central and northern Brazil before widespread heavy rain expected in early January.

Argentine farmers made good progress sowing corn and soy crops following recent abundant rainfall, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday, as industry groups prepare to fight government plans to hike export taxes on their produce.

The exchange said in a weekly report that soybean planting is 78.6% complete after advancing 9.5 percentage points in seven days, while corn planting has also progressed well and is now 69.9% complete.

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