PARIS/SYDNEY: Chicago wheat futures slipped 2 percent on Thursday as attention shifted from weather risks for US crops back to ample global supplies.
Soybeans edged higher while corn ticked lower. Grain traders were awaiting weekly US export sales data for further direction, while broader markets were assessing the likelihood of military conflict between Western and Russian powers in Syria.
The most active wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 2 percent at $4.77-1/2 a bushel by 1110 GMT, adding to a 1 percent loss from the previous session.
The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) higher than expected projection of world wheat stocks in a crop report on Tuesday has turned attention back towards abundant supplies, with the USDA pegging global stocks at a record high.
"The USDA raised their estimates of world and US wheat inventories for season 2017; markets had expected slightly better numbers," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
A drop in the rouble this week, amid escalating tensions between the United States and Russia, has also pressured wheat markets by adding to the competitiveness of Russian wheat, which has dominated export markets this season.
Weather forecasts for heavier rain in the US Plains at the end of next week also pressured prices, though analysts said growing conditions remained unfavourable.
The USDA on Monday rated 30 percent of the US winter wheat crop in good to excellent condition, down from 32 percent a week earlier and 53 percent a year ago.
Winter wheat has endured late frosts since last week in addition to persistent drought. Cold weather could also delay planting of spring wheat, which has been expected to gain area this year.
"Further threats to US winter wheat yield mountings as drier than average conditions persist over the Southern Plains, and more potentially damaging cold on the way," Thomson Reuters Agriculture Research analysts said.
CBOT soybean futures were up 0.2 percent at $10.49-3/4 a bushel as the contract consolidated after rallying on the back of the USDA's lower than expected US soybean ending stocks forecast on Tuesday.
Corn was down 0.4 percent at $3.85-1/2.
Grain traders will be looking for further clues about overseas demand in weekly USDA export data at 1230 GMT, including any more soybean sales to drought-hit Argentina.
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