Corn and soybeans slide on US crop weather, trade jitters

CHICAGO: US corn futures fell more than 2 percent on Monday, the biggest single-day slide for the most-active contract in six weeks, on favorable US crop weather and escalating trade tensions, analysts said.

Soybeans and wheat followed the weak trend that spread across commodity markets.

As of 12:45 p.m. CDT (1745 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade July corn was down 10-1/4 cents at $3.81-1/4 per bushel, testing chart support at its 200-day moving average.

CBOT July soybeans were down 18-1/2 cents at $10.02-3/4 a bushel and wheat was down 17-3/4 cents at $5.05-1/2 a bushel.

Analysts expected the US Department of Agriculture's weekly crop progress report later on Monday to show strong condition ratings for corn and soybeans, underscoring that both crops are off to a good start in the US Midwest.

"The crop is nearly planted. The ratings are high. The weather pattern is rather progressive, with regular showers coming along," said Rich Feltes, vice president for research with R.J. O'Brien.

Recent spells of hot weather were not a concern, Feltes said.

"This time of year, the warm temperatures are favorable, pushing the (corn) crop along, setting the table to have earlier pollination," he said.

Worries about US trade relations with China, the world's top soy importer, also hung over the market.

The two countries ended their latest round of negotiations on Sunday with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and his delegation leaving Beijing without making a public statement. China also made no mention of any new agreements.

"Against a backdrop of good crop conditions, this trade uncertainty is piling on to all the other negative news," Feltes said.

Wheat also gave up ground, with the spot CBOT contract falling 3 percent to its lowest in nearly two weeks as harvest progress in the southern US Plains shifted attention away from dry weather risks in Australia and the Black Sea region.

The USDA planned to release its first estimates of US 2018 winter wheat harvest progress later on Monday, and analysts expected the government to show the national harvest as 8 percent complete.

"We estimate that 20 percent of Oklahoma has been cut, but the next week should see significant progress because yields are generally low and abandonment high in the state," INTL FCStone chief commodities economist Arlan Suderman wrote in a client note.