PARIS/CANBERRA: Chicago wheat futures extended gains on Wednesday to their highest in nearly two months while corn held around a one-month top with support from short-covering, weather risks and an upturn in US exports, analysts said.
Soybean futures slipped after rising sharply in the previous session as expectations that a Chinese anti-dumping probe into Canadian canola could shift trade towards soy were tempered by broader concerns about tepid Chinese demand.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.7% at $5.70-3/4 a bushel at 1136 GMT, after reaching its highest since July 11 at $5.71-1/2.
Soybeans, corn edge higher after losses; US rains to limit gains
CBOT corn inched up 0.1% to $4.09-1/2 a bushel to stay near Tuesday’s one-month peak. Soybeans were down 0.4% at $10.07-1/2 a bushel, easing from a four-week peak struck a day earlier.
All three crops have been moving away from near four-year lows, with the recovery boosted on Tuesday by short-covering amid a risk-off mood in financial markets.
“Prices are continuing the rebound that began a week ago, supported by a combination of short-covering, renewed export demand for US grains and weather concerns caused by a rather too dry end to the cycle in the Corn Belt,” Argus analysts said in a note.
Analysts have been watching for prices to pick up as seasonal supply pressure from northern hemisphere harvests wanes, and attention turns to the southern hemisphere. “Prices must be getting close to bottoming out,” Rod Baker, an analyst at Australian Crop Forecasters in Perth, said.
The US Department of Agriculture said after Tuesday’s market close that the condition of corn crops held steady last week, surpassing average analyst expectations.
The USDA at the same time reduced its weekly rating for soybean crops by more than anticipated.
Traders have been assessing whether a dry end to the growing season may dent earlier projections of bumper corn and soybean yields in the upcoming harvests.
Canola futures fell further, though its loss of around 1% was more moderate than on Tuesday as traders awaited a clearer picture of China’s investigation into Canadian shipments.
Oilseed markets were also cooled by falling crude oil prices, weakness in palm oil futures and persisting doubts over Chinese demand.
In wheat, brisk shipments of cheaper Black Sea supplies remained a curb on prices, though harvest setbacks in western Europe were seen as helping underpin the market.
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