SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures slid for a third consecutive session on Thursday, as rains in parts of Brazil’s oilseed belt eased concerns over yield losses.
Corn ticked up, after falling in the previous session on pressure from the US government’s move to close two key rail crossings into top importer Mexico, while wheat recouped some of Wednesday’s deep losses.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.3% to $13.11-1/2 a bushel, as of 0430 GMT, corn added 0.1% to $4.70 a bushel and wheat rose 0.6% to $6.13-1/2 a bushel.
Dry weather in Brazil, the world’s No. 1 soybean exporter, raised worries about output earlier this month, but rains have improved crop conditions in some regions.
Still, Brazilian farmers will reap 156.5 million metric tons of soybeans in the 2023/24 season, below an estimated 158.9 million tons recorded in the previous cycle, according to a revised crop forecast from agribusiness consultancy Celeres.
For corn, the closure of US-Mexico rail crossings weighed in the market.
Dozens of major US agricultural groups on Wednesday urged the US to reopen two rail crossings on the Texas-Mexico border in an effort to restore the trade routes shuttered due to increased migrant crossings, saying they are causing steep export losses.
In October, total rail freight between the El Paso and Eagle Pass ports topped $3 billion in both directions, according to the US Department of Transportation.
That accounted for some 4% of total trade across the US-Mexico border that month.
Soybeans rise on US sales and Brazil supply fears
Brazil overtook the United States in November to become China’s biggest corn supplier this year while also shipping the most soybeans during a quarter traditionally dominated by US imports, data showed on Wednesday.
The area sown with soft wheat for the 2024 harvest in France is set to fall to its lowest level since at least 2000 at 4.24 million hectares (mln ha) as two months of heavy rain took their toll on crops, consultancy Argus Media said on Wednesday.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, soybean, wheat, soymeal and soyoil futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said.
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