Corn slips, set for biggest monthly fall in nearly three years

SYDNEY: US corn eased for a fifth straight session on Thursday, lingering near a nine-month low hit in the previous session and heading for its biggest monthly slide in nearly three years, on abundant global supplies.

Wheat edged higher but was set to finish the month down nearly 9 percent, while soybeans were poised to post their first monthly drop since March.

The most active corn futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade was down 0.1 percent at $3.45-1/4 a bushel by 0433 GMT, having closed down 0.9 percent in the previous session when prices hit a low of $3.45 a bushel - the lowest since Dec. 2, 2016.

"The corn market, free of widespread weather scares, continues to see a seasonal decline," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

While weather had supported prices for much of the year, easing concerns means the US 2017 harvest will be large, if not as big as the record 2016 crop. The global grain pipeline is still absorbing massive South America harvests.

As a result, corn is down more than 10 percent this month, the biggest monthly drop since September 2014.

The most active wheat futures were up 0.5 percent at $4.32 a bushel, having closed little changed on Wednesday.

Wheat is down nearly 9 percent for the month as ample global supplies continue to depress the market.

The most active soybean futures were up 0.3 percent at $9.36 a bushel, having closed down 0.4 percent on Wednesday.

Soybeans are down nearly 8 percent for the month as favourable weather forecasts weigh on prices.

Forecasts called for generally benign Midwest crop weather, aside from a few dry areas, and a low likelihood of frost through mid-September, which should benefit maturing soybean crops.