Corn steady as latest US rains keep focus on crop losses

PARIS/SYDNEY: Chicago corn edged up on Friday to hold near a five-year high as the latest showers in the US Midwest threatened to create more headaches for farmers after a rain-disrupted planting season.

Soybean and wheat futures inched lower after rallying on Thursday.

Price movements were limited as investors awaited a clearer indication on the consequences of the soggy spring conditions in US grain belts, with attention turning towards next Friday's US Department of Agriculture (USDA) acreage report.

The most active corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.1% at $4.50-1/2 a bushel at 1107 GMT, after closing up 2% on Thursday.

Corn hit its highest since June 2014 at $4.64 earlier in the week as the

market fretted that torrential rain might curb farmers' plantings and reduce the yield potential for crops in the ground.

Prices saw renewed strength on Thursday as rain returned to part of the Midwest grain belt and more showers were forecast for the coming days.

"The market is still being shaped by rain concerns which are very real," Gautier Le Molgat of consultancy Agritel said.

"We're also a week away from the USDA's acreage and stocks reports."

Amid uncertainty over how much corn and soybean farmers have planted during the spring deluge, the USDA's updated acreage estimates on June 28 have taken on extra significance.

The agency will simultaneously release quarterly estimates of US grain stocks.

In addition to lost plantings, traders and analysts see the risk that excess rain will reduce yields beyond a downward revision made by the USDA last week.

"Lower yield forecasts are a good reason for corn prices to rally," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The most active CBOT soybean futures were down 0.4% at $9.12 a bushel.

Soybeans drew support on Thursday from weekly US export sales that were at the high end of trade expectations.

Soybean traders are turning their attention to next week's G20 summit, where US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to meet.

An ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing has slowed US soybean exports to China, the world's top importer of the oilseed.

The most active CBOT wheat futures were down 0.2% at $5.30-3/4 a bushel.

Traders were setting concerns that rain will delay US wheat harvesting and damage grain quality against good harvest prospects in Europe and stiff export competition.