Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn futures were choppy and wheat futures slid to the lowest level since May on Monday as traders scrambled to adjust their positions ahead of a key government crop report.
Corn futures firmed late in the session on short-covering, and as market players debated how big the cuts to the U.S. corn harvest forecasts could be in the monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE). The report is set to be released Tuesday.
That uncertainty weighed on grains throughout the session, said Karl Setzer, brokerage research lead for Mid-Co Commodities.
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“Even if the report comes out with a smaller yield on corn, the general feeling in the market is that USDA may have underestimated the number of acres planted,” Setzer said. “So you could see a smaller yield number but end up with a larger crop if more acres were actually planted.”
In the wheat market, robust global supplies and sluggish demand for pricier U.S. crops sent futures lower for their third straight session.
The Chicago Board of Trade’s most active wheat contract settled down 11-1/4 cents to $5.84-1/4 a bushel, after touching a new contract low of $5.80-1/4 a bushel in midday trading — the lowest since May 31 (all figures US$).
Much of the day’s market pressure was focused on heavy competition from Russia, traders said. Russian wheat prices are low and trade below the unofficial minimum export prices being imposed by the Russian government, one trader said, adding that a quick resumption for a safe Ukraine shipping channel is not expected.
Soybean futures firmed on technical trading and market expectations that recent heat waves across the U.S. Midwest and drought conditions may have a bigger-than-expected hit on crop yields this fall, traders said.
Soybeans climbed six cents to settle at $13.69 a bushel while corn rose two cents at $4.85-3/4 a bushel.
— Reporting for Reuters by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago; additional reporting by Zachary Goelman in New York City, Michael Hogan in Hamburg, Peter Hobson and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
