Corn, soy rebound on US crop condition; wheat firm

SINGAPORE/PARIS: Chicago corn and soybean futures rose 1% on Tuesday after a US government report pegged the condition of domestic crops below market expectations, sparking concerns over global supply.

Wheat was also firm after falling in the previous session.

"US weather continues to be the major focus," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "Weather forecasters have the US Midwest's north west on a path to an expanding area of dryness and crop stress over the next fortnight."

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade (CBOT) added 1.1% to $6.87 a bushel, as of 1045 GMT.

Soybeans were up 1.2% at $15.78-3/4 a bushel and wheat rose 1% to $6.86-1/2 a bushel.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) rated 72% of the US corn crop in good-to-excellent condition in its weekly crop progress report, down 4 percentage points from a week ago and below the average of estimates in a Reuters poll.

The USDA rated 67% of the soybean crop as good-to-excellent in its first 2021 condition ratings for the oilseed, below the average analyst expectations of 70%.

Trader focus has shifted again to weather forecasts amid concerns that hot and dry conditions in key growing areas of the US Midwest could threaten crops as they pass through key stages of development.

"The evolution for the next couple of weeks is monitored by traders even if the vegetative stage is not considered as alarming by the agronomists. It will be essential that rainfall be adequate for the first 5 days of July," French consultancy Agritel said in a note.

Australia on Tuesday raised its wheat production forecast during the 2021/22 season by 11.2% from a forecast three months ago after rains across several major growing regions improved the prospects for yields.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences said it now expects production during the season ending June 30, 2022 to total 27.8 million tonnes. The bureau's previous forecast in March had been 25 million tonnes.