Wheat steadies but heads for 3% weekly loss amid plentiful supply

CANBERRA: Chicago wheat futures edged higher on Friday but were near their lowest since 2020 and down nearly 3% for the week as ample supply of cheap Black Sea grain pressured prices.

Chicago wheat rises as Canadian rail stoppage disrupts exports

Corn and soybean futures also steadied after falling to near four-year lows on Thursday, with results from the Pro Farmer crop tour reinforcing expectations of bumper US crops.

Fundamentals

• The December soft red winter wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.2% at $5.36-3/4 a bushel at 0034 GMT but down 2.9% from last Friday’s close.

• CBOT most-active corn rose 0.1% to $3.93-3/4 a bushel and was up 0.3% over the week while soybeans climbed 0.3% to $9.64-1/4 a bushel and headed for a 0.8% weekly gain.

• Plentiful supply of all three crops has caused speculators to build up significant bets on further prices falls. Funds were net sellers of wheat, corn and soy on Thursday, traders said.

• Top wheat exporter Russia expects a large harvest and exports from Ukraine have been brisk. Forecasts for a large US crop expectations have also helped offset losses in France and Germany, where heavy rains have damaged crops.

• Argentina’s current wheat season should continue to improve thanks to recent rainy days, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday, and Australia also anticipates above-average wheat production.

• The Canadian government moved quickly on Thursday to end an unprecedented rail stoppage that would disrupt Canadian and US wheat exports if it endured.

• In other crops, corn yield prospects in Illinois are the biggest in the Pro Farmer crop tour’s 32-year history and the state’s soybean-pod count is the largest since 2000, scouts on the annual US Midwest tour reported on Wednesday.

• The US Department of Agriculture on Thursday reported a fourth consecutive day of soybean sales to China, but the uptick in demand was overshadowed by strong yield estimates and competition from cheap South American crops.