PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago grain and soybean futures extended losses on Wednesday, with wheat hitting another two-and-a-half year low, as the markets looked beyond drought risks for US crops and focused on ample global supplies and wider economic concerns.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 2.5% at $5.76-1/4 a bushel by 1051 GMT after touching its lowest since December 2020.
CBOT corn was 1.3% lower at $5.86-1/4 a bushel, moving further back from Friday’s one-month high.
CBOT soybeans may climb into $13.35-1/4 to $13.44-3/4 range
Soybeans gave up 1.2% to $12.81 a bushel after earlier touching their weakest since December 2021.
The condition of the drought-affected US winter wheat crop improved more than analysts expected last week, a US government crop progress report showed.
Export prices of Russian wheat are softening further in anticipation of a new harvest and amid low demand from global importers, according to analysts, taking attention away from renewed tensions over a Black Sea grain deal allowing shipments from Ukraine.
“Ideas that Russia will stay very competitive on exporting on the world market, plus continued good weather for the US crop helped put pressure (on prices),” commodities research firm Hightower said in a report.
Recent rain has brought some relief to parched US hard red winter wheat zones, though a dry spell in the eastern Midwest has raised early doubts about corn prospects.
But forecasts showing a possible return of rain from next week in the US corn belt, as well as the start of Brazil’s second annual corn harvest, have tempered weather worries.
A further slide in crude oil, as investors fretted over a sharper-than-anticipated slowdown in China’s manufacturing activity, also weighed on corn and soybeans, for which Chinese imports and biofuel production are major sources of demand.
“Prices for all commodities (…) have fallen sharply against the backdrop of global economic gloom,” consultancy Agritel said in a note.
“Operators focus on potential demand from China, where macro dynamics remain disappointing.”
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