Chicago wheat futures down

SINGAPORE/PARIS: Chicago wheat futures edged higher on Friday, with the market still on track for a third weekly decline on pressure from Chinese buyers cancelling shipments amid plentiful global supplies.

Corn and soybeans slid.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was unmoved at $5.35-1/2 a bushel as of 1215 GMT, while corn lost 0.2% to $4.33 a bushel and soybeans shed 0.7% to $11.87 a bushel.

For the week, wheat was down 0.5%, having lost 6% in three weeks. Corn was down 1.4%, while soybeans have added 0.3%.

Chinese wheat importers have cancelled or postponed about one million metric tons of Australian wheat cargoes as growing world stockpiles drag prices lower. This news came after the US government reported cancellation of more than 500,000 metric tons of US wheat exports last week to China.

Cancellation of shipments by China, the world’s No. 1 wheat buyer, is heightening concerns among exporters over rising world surplus.

“The downward pressure on wheat prices remains high.?Not only does the supply outlook remain favourable, but demand in China, which has recently been the most important import country, also appears to be weakening,” Commerzbank said in a note.

Russia’s IKAR agricultural consultancy said it expects Russia’s 2024/25 grain crop to be 147 million metric tons, of which 93 million tons would be wheat, Russian news agency Interfax reported on Thursday.

The figures are up from 2023/24 when the grain harvest was forecast at 144 million metric tons in 2023/24, of which 91.6 million tons will be wheat.

The International Grains Council on Thursday forecast a record global grain crop in the 2024/25 season, reinforcing concerns about a global glut.

The inter-governmental body, issuing its first full set of supply and demand projections for the 2024/25 season, saw global grains production rising to a record 2.332 billion metric tons from the prior season’s 2.304 billion.

The percentage of Argentine soybean plantings with optimal-to-excellent soil moisture grew to 77% in the last week, boosted by recent rains, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday.

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