SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat slid for a second session on Tuesday, with prices close to a one-week low on pressure from the Northern Hemisphere harvest and a forecast of higher output in top exporter Russia. Soybeans edged higher as talks between China, the world’s No. 1 importer of the oilseed, and the United States, the second largest exporter, got underway to resolve their trade dispute that has hit farm trade.
“We prices are pulling back after last week’s gains,” said a trader in Singapore. “Harvest has started in some key exporting countries which is putting pressure on prices as supplies going to increase.” The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.4% to $5.40 a bushel, as of 0209 GMT, after hitting its lowest since June 4 earlier in the session. Corn fell 0.1% to $4.33-1/4 a bushel, while soybeans added 0.5% to $10.61-1/4 a bushel.
Wheat futures face headwinds as the winter wheat harvest got under way and the market paused after last week’s bounce. There was additional pressure on the wheat market after Russian agricultural consultancy Sovecon raised its forecast for 2025 wheat harvest by 1.8 million metric tons to 82.8 million tons, citing good weather. However, the US harvest is off to a slow start. After the CBOT closed on Monday, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said winter wheat was 4% harvested, up just a percentage point from the previous week, lagging the five-year average of 7%.
The USDA rated 71% of the country’s corn crop in good to excellent condition as of Sunday, up from 69% the week prior and slightly above the average estimate from a Reuters survey of analysts. The agency pegged 68% of the soybean crop in good to excellent condition, a slight improvement from the previous week and in line with expectations.
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