Wheat drops on improved US crop, soyabeans firm on Brazilian planting

SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat futures slid for the first time in five sessions on Tuesday, with the improved condition of the US winter crop boosting the 2024 supply outlook and adding pressure on prices. Soyabeans ticked up, trading close to last session’s eight-week high, on weather concerns in top exporter Brazil that has delayed planting and strong Chinese demand.

The Chicago Board of Trade’s (CBOT) most-active wheat contract fell 0.8% to $5.71 a bushel, as of 0531 GMT. Soyabeans added quarter of a cent to $13.64-1/4 a bushel, while corn gave up 0.5% to $4.75 a bushel.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday rated 50% of the US winter wheat crop in good-to-excellent condition, up three percentage points from the previous week and the highest for this time of year since 2019 as soil moisture improved in the Plains following a three-year drought.

The market is monitoring uneven crop weather in Brazil, where soyabean planting has been delayed. Dryness is a concern in the leading soya-producing state Mato Grosso, while heavy downpours have soaked southern areas.

Brazil’s 2023/24 soyabean planting had reached 51% of the expected area as of last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said, up 11 percentage points from the previous week.

Sowing continues to lag behind last year’s levels, when 57% of the areas had been planted at the same time, and the current pace represents the slowest for the period since 2020/21, AgRural added. China imported 5.16 million metric tons of soyabeans in October, customs data showed on Tuesday, a 25% surge from a year earlier but lower than analysts expectations as Brazilian soyabeans continued to arrive at ports later than usual.

However, the rapidly progressing US corn and soyabean harvest weighed on prices. The corn harvest was 81% complete by Sunday, slightly below the average analyst estimate of 82% but ahead of the five-year average pace of 77%.