Chicago corn futures fall ahead of USDA monthly report

BEIJING: Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell on Thursday as traders await a monthly supply-demand report due from the US Department of Agriculture later in the day.

Soybeans and wheat were almost flat. The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn lost 0.1% to $4.18-1/2 a bushel by 0210. Soybeans were unchanged at $11.22-3/4 a bushel, and Wheat was flat at $5.87-3/4 a bushel.

Widespread rains across the Midwest this week were expected to aid crop germination and early growth, bolstering production prospects.

Ahead of Thursday’s weekly USDA export sales report, traders expected the government to show net sales of US old-crop corn in the week ended June 4 of 700,000 to 1,600,000 metric tons and weekly new-crop corn sales of up to 500,000 tons.

For soybeans, traders expected the government to show net sales of US old-crop soybeans in the week ended June 4 of up to 400,000 metric tons and weekly new-crop sales of up to 350,000 tons.

Ample global supply also pressured grains and oilseed prices.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the USDA to raise its estimates of corn and soybean harvests in Brazil and Argentina.

Soybeans, corn rise in step with higher oil prices

In Argentina, the world’s leading exporter of soybean oil and meal, the Rosario grain exchange on Wednesday raised its production forecast for the 2025/26 soybean crop to 51.5 million metric tons from a previous estimate of 50 million, as better-than-expected yields have boosted output.

Soybean production increased 9.5%, the Exchange said, compared to the initial estimate it provided for the 2025/26 season last year.

The national yield rose to 3.21 tons per hectare from May to June, the report said.

Corn harvesting was 55% complete, and the institution maintained its forecast of a record 68 million tons for 2025/26.

The exchange also raised the production forecast for the 2026/27 wheat crop to 20 million tons, according to its monthly report.