Wheat extends losses as sluggish demand weighs; corn and soy up

• The most-active wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 0.7% to $4.96-3/4 a bushel by 1025 GMT, having touched their lowest since March 18 at hitting $4.95-1/2. The contract closed 0.4% down on Friday.
• "US wheat prices remain in a bearish trend; the export business is still gloomy," French consultancy Agritel said in a note.

SHANGHAI/PARIS: US wheat futures fell for a second consecutive session on Monday as sluggish demand because of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed prices to their lowest in nearly two months.

Corn and soybean prices, however, both traded higher.

The most-active wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 0.7% to $4.96-3/4 a bushel by 1025 GMT, having touched their lowest since March 18 at hitting $4.95-1/2. The contract closed 0.4% down on Friday.

"US wheat prices remain in a bearish trend; the export business is still gloomy," French consultancy Agritel said in a note.

The US Department of Agriculture last week projected that US wheat exports would decline in 2020/21 from the previous year, while exports from Russia, Australia, Canada and Argentina would increase.

Ukraine's weekly wheat exports jumped 42% to 413,000 tonnes in the week ended May 15 and total export volumes were close to the government-imposed quota for the current season, preliminary data from the APK-Inform consultancy showed on Monday.

The most-active soybean futures rose 0.7% to $8.44 a bushel, having gained 0.2% on Friday.

Aiding soybean prices, the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) said its members processed 171.754 million bushels of soybeans last month, above average trade expectations of 170.483 million.

While China, the world's largest consumer of soybeans, has pledged to speed up purchases of US agricultural products, doubts remain over its demand for US soybeans.

A big question mark is whether or not China will take all the US beans they are committed to, said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank, pointing to strong competition from Brazilian soybeans to China.

China is set to speed up purchases of US farm goods and will implement the Phase 1 trade deal signed in January with the United States, state-owned trading house COFCO said.

It is also allocating more low-tariff import quotas for corn this year and may expand its use of wheat quotas as it seeks to step up farm purchases from the United States and meet a pledge to comply with global trade rules.

Reuters reported on Sunday that China has asked trading firms and food processors to boost inventories of grains and oilseeds as a possible second wave of COVID-19 cases and worsening infection rates elsewhere raise concerns about global supply lines.

Meanwhile, the most-active corn futures, which had earlier climbed to their highest in three days, were last up 0.5% at $3.20-3/4, having gained 0.6% in the previous session.