US corn, soyabeans and wheat futures fell sharply on Monday, with investors shedding risky assets amid fears the coronavirus outbreak in China could dent the global economy, traders said. The most-active Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures contract sank to its lowest since Dec. 12, with the market still waiting for signs of a pick-up in Chinese demand following the Phase 1 trade deal between Beijing and Washington. Corn futures were at their lowest since Jan. 17 and wheat touched a 10-day low.
"The grain bulls that continue to look for a boost from Chinese demand post-trade deal took a couple more blows over the weekend," Matt Zeller, director of market information at INTL FCStone said in a note to clients. The expansion of coronavirus is weighing on the commodities and markets overall." Wheat futures faced additional pressure from weakening prospects on the export market.
The US Agriculture Department said on Monday morning export inspections of wheat fell to 223,994 tonnes in the week ended Jan. 23 from 516,309 tonnes a week earlier. The weekly total was well below analysts' forecasts that ranged from 400,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes. At 10:42 a.m. CST (1642 GMT) CBOT March soft red winter wheat futures were down 5 cents at $5.68-1/2 a bushel.
CBOT March soyabean futures were 9-3/4 cents lower at $8.92-1/4 a bushel. Soyabeans were on track for their fifth straight day of declines and their seventh in the eight sessions since the trade deal was signed. CBOT March corn was down 9 cents at $3.78-1/4 a bushel.
Soyabean export inspections were down to 1.039 million tonnes from 1.206 million tonnes but in line with expectations. Export inspections of corn rose to 668,559 tonnes from 396,613 tonnes and also matched a range of market forecasts.