SINGAPORE: Chicago corn futures slipped on Friday, giving up some of the gains from the previous session that drove prices to an 18-month high, although the market is poised for a second weekly gain on expectations of lower U.S. output.
Wheat eased, but losses were curbed by a squeeze on Russian and Ukrainian exports that has fuelled expectations that importers will have to turn to pricier alternative origins.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.6% at $5.00-1/2 a bushel, as of 0009 GMT, having climbed to its highest point since February 2025 on Thursday.
Wheat edged 0.1% lower to $6.99 a bushel on Friday while soybeans lost 0.2% to $12.34-1/2 a bushel.
The market is closely watching reports from the Pro Farmer field tour after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its corn and soybean yield forecasts last week.
Corn yield potential and soybean pod counts across western Iowa are down from last year but remain near or above three-year averages, Pro Farmer scouts said on Wednesday.
On the third day of a four-day, seven-state event, Pro Farmer scouts projected the average corn yield for Illinois, the No. 2 U.S. corn state, at below the 2025 crop tour average and the tour’s three-year average.
Expectations of lower yield in the United States come as global supplies tighten.
The International Grains Council has cut its forecast for 2026/27 global corn production by 1 million metric tons to 1.305 billion tons, it said on Thursday.
Brazil’s corn market deficit is expected to jump to 7.2 million metric tons in the 2026/27 season, from 2.7 million tons in the previous cycle, driven mainly by stronger demand from ethanol plants, agribusiness consultancy Datagro estimated on Thursday.
Global wheat importers are bracing for tighter supplies as tit-for-tat attacks by Russia and Ukraine on ports and vessels in recent weeks have shuttered grain terminals and forced shippers to delay or cancel loadings for dozens of cargoes during the peak export season.
Attacks on shipping have shut down more than 97% of Russia and Ukraine’s grain export capacity in the Azov and Black Sea basin, cutting off a major source of low-cost supplies and helping to drive up global prices.
U.S. government bonds sold off again following a brief reprieve on Thursday, pushing yields higher and keeping stocks under pressure as investors questioned whether U.S. Treasury support measures would provide lasting relief.
Comments