Corn eases from 4-week top on US harvest pace; wheat slips

SINGAPORE: Chicago corn slid on Tuesday, easing from a four-week high scaled in the previous session, as a rapid US harvest put pressure on prices.

Wheat fell for a second session, while soybeans also lost ground.

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) lost 0.4% to $5.37-1/2 a bushel, as of 0238 GMT, after hitting its highest since Aug. 31 at $5.40 a bushel on Monday. Wheat dropped 0.6% to $7.18 a bushel and soybeans gave up 0.5% to $12.81-3/4 a bushel.

After the CBOT close on Monday, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said the US harvest was 18% complete for corn and 16% for soybeans, both slightly ahead of the five-year averages of 15% and 13%, respectively.

Corn rallied in the previous session amid expectations of a recovery in demand.

US soybean exports jumped last week to a six-month peak, while corn shipments were the highest in a month as Louisiana Gulf Coast terminals steadily ramped up operations disrupted nearly a month ago by Hurricane Ida, preliminary data showed on Monday.

The export pace, however, was still below normal for this time of the year, as several terminals remain shuttered or running at a reduced capacity.

The USDA confirmed private sales of 334,000 tonnes of US soybeans to China, the world's largest oilseed buyer, a factor that supported soybean futures.

Some traders also cited optimism that China might buy more US grains, after an agreement between the United States and China led to Canada releasing Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou last week.

Traders are looking ahead to the USDA's Sept. 30 quarterly stocks report. Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the government to report US Sept. 1 corn stocks at 1.155 billion bushels, below the 1.187 billion bushels that the USDA projected in its last monthly supply/demand report on Sept. 10.

Russian wheat export prices rose for an 11th consecutive week, following higher global benchmarks in Chicago and Paris, analysts said on Monday.

Russian wheat with 12.5% protein loading from Black Sea ports for supply in the first half of October was $304 a tonne, free on board (FOB), at the end of last week, up $3 from the previous week, consultancy IKAR said in a note.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, soybean, soymeal and soyoil futures contracts on Monday and net sellers of wheat futures, traders said.