CHICAGO: Chicago wheat and corn futures fell on Friday as news of beneficial rain in Russia and profit-taking dented wheat prices, leading to corn selling as well.
Forecasts for a smaller Russian wheat harvest due to persistent drought and frost pushed prices to a 10-month high of $7.20 a bushel this week. But by Friday, traders were less concerned about how much relief the well-timed rains might give the country’s crop, analysts said.
“The Russian wheat story is running its course, and we’re going to have to see a new element to keep momentum going,” said Brian Splitt, co-founder of marketing and consulting firm AgMarket. “The weather can only stay bullish for so long.”
CBOT July wheat slipped 11-3/4 cents to settle at $6.81 a bushel. For the week, the most-active corn futures contract on a continuous chart ended down 3.98%, the biggest percentage drop since last July, weighed down by wheat prices and as traders adjusted positions at month-end.
CBOT July corn settled down 2-1/2 cents at $4.46-1/4 per bushel. Soybean futures also eased, as investors adjusted month-end positions. Weekly grain export sales fell in line with trade expectations and US inflation data showed no worrying signs of fresh upward momentum last month.
CBOT July soybean futures settled down 4-3/4 cents to $12.05 per bushel. US farmers have made steady progress planting corn and soybeans between showers and the rain could help early growth of this year’s crops.
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