CANBERRA: Chicago corn and soybean futures regained some ground on Tuesday after data showing strong US production and stockpiles pushed prices to multi-year lows in the previous trading session.
Wheat also rose from a six-week low.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.6% at $12.31-1/2 a bushel by 0627 GMT after slipping to $12.03 on Friday, its lowest since November 2021.
The US market was closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Day holiday.
Soybeans had already been falling as rainfall in top producer Brazil improved the supply outlook, and on Friday the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised yield numbers for recently harvested US crop and said stocks were slightly higher than analysts had expected.
Soybeans are now down 5% so far this month. “Prices are falling as the market continues to digest a larger crop in south America,” said Dennis Voznesenski, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Ample supply and concerns about demand and the health of the global economy mean that oilseed prices - a category that includes soybeans, canola and sunflower seeds - are likely to remain under pressure, he said.
However, Agribusiness consultancy AgRural on Monday estimated Brazil’s 2023/24 soybean crop at 150.1 million metric tons, significantly below the government’s forecast of 155.3 million tons.
Farmer group Aprosoja-MT has also predicted a smaller harvest in Mato Grosso state, a key growing region, than the government, raising concerns that the overall crop could be smaller than many analysts currently think.
CBOT corn rose 0.1% to $4.47-1/4 a bushel after hitting $4.41 on Friday, the lowest since December 2020.
Soybeans head for fourth weekly loss as supply outlook improves
A record US harvest and lacklustre US export sales have contributed to growing inventories, with the USDA saying on Friday that US stocks swelled to their highest level since 2018.
CBOT corn is down 5% this month. Wheat was up 0.6% at $5.99-1/4 a bushel after falling to a six-week low of $5.87-1/4 on Friday.
Wheat supply is plentiful after a bumper Russian harvest and with the USDA on Friday reporting that US stocks were their highest since 2020.
Prices have slipped around 4.5% so far in January but remain clear of last September’s three-year low of $5.40 a bushel.
Export prices for Russian wheat fell slightly last week amid weak global demand, analysts said. India should harvest a record 114 million metric tons of wheat this season, its trade minister said, enabling the country to increase stockpiles without importing.
Speculators are betting on price falls for soybeans, corn and wheat.
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