CANBERRA/PARIS: Chicago soybean futures fell for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday to hold at a six-week low amid doubts that China will buy enough US beans to prevent prices from losing ground in a well-supplied market.
Chicago wheat also eased for a fourth session, with increases to US Department of Agriculture estimates for global production and stocks underscoring ample supply.
Corn ticked down after rising 1 percent on Tuesday when the USDA said US exports would be larger than it had previously projected, leading to smaller US ending stocks.
Prices faced additional pressure from Tuesday’s announcement by Argentina, which said it would lower export taxes on crops including wheat, soybeans and corn, making them more competitive overseas.
Grains, like wider markets, were also awaiting direction from a US Federal Reserve interest rate policy decision later on Wednesday, which could influence commodity prices via any movements in the dollar.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.4 percent at USD10.83-1/4 a bushel at 1216 GMT, after hitting another lowest since end-October.
Soybeans have fallen from a 17-month high of USD11.69-1/2 in mid-November as optimism faded that China would quickly buy 12 million metric tons of US soybeans under a trade truce with Washington.
The USDA has so far confirmed around 2.9 million metric tons of US soybean sales to China. Despite the slow pace of Chinese purchases, the USDA left its US export forecast unchanged on Tuesday. “The export target, maintained at 44.5 million tons, raises questions as the current pace makes it impossible to achieve,” Argus Media analysts said, adding the USDA may have to lower the forecast in its January report.
Favourable weather is helping South American crops, with the USDA retaining its forecast for record 2025/26 soybean production in top grower Brazil.
CBOT wheat was down 0.7 percent at USD5.31 a bushel and CBOT corn eased 0.2 percent to USD4.47-1/4 a bushel.
Wheat supply looks ample, with only the threat of attacks on shipping in the Black Sea offering scope for price rises, said Dennis Voznesenski, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank.
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