CHICAGO: US corn and soybean futures fell on Friday as traders booked profits from recent multiyear highs, crude oil prices sagged and harvesting expanded in the Midwest despite scattered rains, analysts said.
Attention was turning towards next week’s meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, in which Chinese purchases of soybeans and other US agricultural goods will be among trade issues in focus. Wheat eased on technical selling and lingering hopes of de-escalation in the Black Sea export zone. Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans settled down 16-1/4 cents, or 1.2percent, at USD13.03-1/2 per bushel. CBOT December corn ended down 3 cents, or 0.6percent, at USD5.27-1/2 a bushel after hitting a one-week low at USD5.25-1/2. December wheat finished down 12-3/4 cents, or 1.8percent, at USD7.14-1/4 a bushel.
Managed commodity funds held a net long position in all three commodities as of September 8, weekly US regulatory data showed, leaving the markets prone to bouts of long liquidation in the absence of fresh supportive news.
CBOT corn, soybeans and wheat futures each hit multiyear peaks this month as conflicts in the Black Sea and Middle East disrupted commodity flows and traders assessed the impact of stressful summer weather on US crop yields. But much of that support had already been factored into prices.
“We’ve been pretty high, and people are liquidating,” said Jack Scoville, vice president of the Price Futures Group in Chicago. “We’re coming up on the weekend, and next week is the China summit. We’re seeing some selling ahead of that,” Scoville added. Traders will be monitoring a weekend meeting between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, which will set the stage for next week’s Trump-Xi summit.
Weather forecasts projecting an easing in rainfall next week in parts of the US Midwest were tempering worries about corn and soy harvest delays.
Wheat traders said an AFP report, which cited a Turkish proposal sent to Russia and Ukraine for a truce on strikes against commercial shipping in the Black Sea, put investors’ attention back on de-escalation prospects.
However, analysts were doubtful about any immediate breakthrough. “We see little prospect of a near-term normalisation in Black Sea export volumes, and any market expectation of an imminent settlement is likely misguided,” BMI said.
Comments