PARIS/BEIJING: Chicago corn and soybean futures edged higher on Thursday, while wheat was little changed, with prices steadying after losses this week as traders monitored Russia-Ukraine war developments and awaited US Department of Agriculture data.
The most-traded corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 0.6percent at USD5.30-3/4 a bushel by 0941 GMT. CBOT wheat inched down 0.1percent at USD7.28 a bushel, while soybeans were 0.5percent up at USD13.16 a bushel.
Prices have retreated from their highest in around three years, with diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war with Ukraine encouraging profit-taking in the run-up to Friday’s USDA supply-and-demand report.
“Renewed Russian comments about restarting US-mediated peace talks gave funds an excuse to trim risk, while tomorrow’s (USDA) report adds another reason not to chase prices before seeing the new numbers,” CM Navigator analysts wrote.
The USDA report is being closely watched as a gauge of the impact of adverse weather on US corn and soybean yields as well as the effects of Black Sea disruption on global grain trade.