Chicago corn futures erased overnight gains in mid-day trading on Thursday, as ethanol demand destruction overshadowed strong US export sales and a jump in crude oil prices.
Soyabean futures gained on reports of a diminished Brazilian soyabean crop, but were capped by a sluggish meal market, traders said. Wheat futures also rose, although gains continued to face headwinds by expectations of a large US harvest.
The biggest grains news early Thursday was for corn: The US Agriculture Department reported export sales of old-crop corn in the week ended April 2 at 1,848,900 tonnes, a marketing year high, and new-crop sales at 608,800 tonnes, for a total of more than 2.4 million tonnes.
Corn futures have been plummeting recently as disruption surrounding the novel coronavirus limited demand for ethanol fuel, which provides a significant market for the grain. US ethanol plants have shuttered on collapsed fuel demand as people avoid travel to limit the spread of the virus.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade
was down a 1/4 cent at $3.30-1/4 a bushel, as of 10:23 a.m. (15:23 GMT).
Wheat added 4-3/4 cents to $5.53 a bushel, while soyabeans climbed 9-1/2 cents to $8.64 a bushel.
Soyabean futures gained on news the soyabean crop out of Brazil shaved off nearly 2 million tons, according to Brazil's CONAB.
Despite the beginnings of recovery in China, some traders question the country's appetite for US soyabeans.
China released 500,000 tons of soyabeans from state reserves Tuesday, as rain delays slowed Brazilian shipments. That is despite a Phase 1 trade deal between China and the US, promising a slew of US agricultural exports, including soyabeans. On the international wheat market a symbolic 60,000 tonne cargo of Russian wheat has set sail for Saudi Arabia from a Black Sea port, three sources told Reuters on Thursday.