Chicago corn rose on Tuesday to last week's three-year highs after the US Department of Agriculture said US planting was well behind the average pace for this time of year after repeated rainfall. Soyabeans also rose as rain also slowed US sowings, according the USDA report. But wheat futures tumbled early on Tuesday, after the USDA said US winter wheat was in better condition than some traders expected, coupled with profit-taking after Monday's sharp rise.
Trading volumes were large early in the day for soyabeans and corn, with more than 84,000 contracts of July corn, over 40,000 contracts of July soyabeans, and more than 21,000 contracts of July soyabeans changing hands, according to a morning client from AgResource. The rally in corn, however, was being tempered somewhat by what traders heard from farmers in north-central Iowa, Minnesota and parts of South Dakota, who are still intending to plant more corn, Setzer said.
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) most-active corn futures contract was up 1.12% at $4.29 a bushel at 9:27 a.m. CDT (1227 GMT) on Tuesday. Corn last week climbed $4.38 a bushel, its highest since 2016. The CBOT most-active wheat contract fell 1.92% to $5.09-3/4 a bushel, after rising 3.4% on Monday on concerns about harvest risks from heavy rain. Soyabeans rose 0.97% to $8.87-1/2 a bushel.
Heavy rain continued to plague US farmers last week, especially in the corn belt, as they struggled to complete their sowings in waterlogged fields. The USDA said in a report after the market close on Monday that US corn planting was 67% complete, below market expectations of 71% and well below the average pace of 96% at this time of year.
The USDA also said US soyabean planting was 39% complete, below market expectations of 42% and significantly below the average pace of 79%. The USDA said 64% of US winter wheat was in good-to-excellent condition, up from 61% last week and expectations of 59%.

Copyright Reuters, 2019

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