Corn ticks up as US reports crop condition below expectations
- The US winter wheat harvest is off to a slow start. The USDA said 4% of the crop had been cut by Sunday, compared with analyst estimates of 10%.
SINGAPORE: Chicago corn futures edged higher on Tuesday after a US report pegged crop condition below market expectations, even as forecasts of improved weather kept a lid on prices.
Wheat dropped for a third consecutive session while soybeans lost more ground.
"A couple of developments tripped the market," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"Most important has been the swing in weather forecasts for the north-west and west Midwest of the US The overall pattern for the week or so ahead is now cooler and somewhat wetter ... crops in these regions were on a path to depleted soil moisture and crop stress - now those outcomes have been at least delayed."
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade (CBOT) added 0.2% to $6.60-1/2 a bushel, as of 0253 GMT, having closed down 3.7% in the previous session, when prices hit a June 3 low of $6.53 a bushel.
Soybeans slid 0.1% to $14.71-1/2 a bushel and wheat dropped 0.8% to $6.69 a bushel.
The weather outlook for the US Midwest is cooler temperatures and rains late this week, aiding crops.
Still, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) rated 68% of the US corn crop as good to excellent, down 4 percentage points from the previous week.
The agency rated 62% of the soybean crop as good to excellent, down 5 percentage points.
Analysts on average had expected a ratings decline of only 3 points for corn and 2 points for soybeans.
The US winter wheat harvest is off to a slow start. The USDA said 4% of the crop had been cut by Sunday, compared with analyst estimates of 10%.
Soft wheat exports from the European Union in the 2020/21 season that started last July reached 24.88 million tonnes by June 13, data published by the European Commission showed on Monday. That was down from 33.94 million tonnes cleared by the same week last season, according to the data.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, soybean, soymeal, soyoil and wheat futures contracts on Monday, traders said.
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