Weaker equities, oil undermine grains, soybeans

HAMBURG: Chicago wheat, corn and soybeans fell on Monday as weaker global markets outside grains undermined sentiment.

Disappointing US sales of soybeans and corn to China also burdened along with favourable US harvest weather.

Chicago Board of Trade most active corn fell 1.6% to $5.18-1/2 a bushel at 1047 GMT. Soybeans dropped 1.1% to $12.69-1/4 a bushel, wheat fell 0.9% to $7.02-1/4 a bushel.

World equities fell and the dollar firmed on Monday ahead of a week packed with global central bank meetings. Crude oil dropped more than $1 a barrel to around $74 on Monday as rising risk aversion weighed on stock markets.

"Weaker outside markets, especially equities and crude oil, are undermining wheat, corn and soybean prices today," said Matt Ammermann, commodity risk manager at StoneX. "This has generated a risk-off mood in grains today."

"Soybeans and corn are also being weakened by disappointing Chinese demand for US supplies. There have been regular US soybean sales to China recently but the volumes are rather small."

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Recent US soybean export sales to China have been relatively minor deals of under 200,000 tonnes. No major US corn sales have been reported to China so far in September.

"The US and Ukraine are currently the main likely corn suppliers to China," Ammermann said. "With China likely to use its own corn harvest in the immediate future we may not see large-scale demand from Chinese importers until later this year. But the market wants to see demand now."

Weather is good for the US corn harvest, now starting.

"The US harvest weather remains favourable but October is the month when harvest news will dominate," Ammermann said. "However, forecasts of warm and dry US weather are raising expectations we will see a quick and easy US grains harvest."