Chicago | Reuters—Chicago Board of Trade corn futures pulled back from a 16-month high on Wednesday as traders booked profits and anticipated that recent gains will drive bigger U.S. plantings this spring.
Wheat futures backtracked from an eight-month high, while soybean futures also weakened.
The setback in corn came after the most-active contract Cv1 climbed about 10 per cent this year on the back of robust U.S. export demand and a smaller-than-expected harvest last autumn.
The gains have benefited farmers, though many are still expected to lose money growing corn and soybeans after prices fell last year to 2020 lows.
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“You can’t go up every day,” said Jim Gerlach, president of brokerage A/C Trading. “We’ve come a long way.”
Most-active CBOT corn futures Cv1 fell 4-1/2 cents to close at $4.97-1/2 per bushel after climbing to $5.04-1/2, the highest price since October 2023. New-crop December corn CZ25 slipped 1 cent to $4.76-1/2 a bushel after touching a June high.
Analysts expect the recent surge will encourage farmers to plant more corn, as the crop looks more profitable than soybeans.
“The biggest, most important factor in the corn market right now is we’ve been buying corn acres,” Gerlach said. “It won’t last forever.”
Export demand for U.S. corn has been strong despite recent price increases. The nation’s inventories are projected to hit a two-year low before the next harvest, while world corn stocks are set to reach their lowest level in a decade, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Dry weather is damaging corn crops in Argentina and a behind-schedule sowing program could curtail output in Brazil, Rabobank analyst Vitor Pistoia said.
“There won’t be much corn available out of South America until summer,” said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage. “The U.S. will be the primary supplier of corn for a while, which should be price supportive into the late winter.”
CBOT wheat Wv1 settled down 11-1/4 cents at $6.06-1/2 per bushel, and soybeans Sv1 slid 6-3/4 cents to $10.31-3/4 per bushel.
—Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra
