Chicago | Reuters – Chicago corn and soybean futures fell on Thursday as large U.S. yield prospects continued to drive short covering from earlier this week, analysts said.
Wheat followed corn downward, while brisk exports from the Black Sea region continued to curb prices.
A lower dollar and concerns over damaging, dry U.S. Midwestern weather encouraged recent short-covering in grain markets where investors had built up big short positions.
However, commodity funds added new short positions on Thursday on the perception that corn and soy futures had become over-valued, traders said.
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“The hedge funds have a bias to be short the market,” said Joe Davis, broker at Futures International. “The market is fundamentally bearish with large crops here and in South America.”
The most-active corn contract Cv1 on the Chicago Board of Trade settled down 2 cents to $4.10-3/4 per bushel, and soybeans Sv1 ended down 2 cents to $10.23-1/2 per bushel. CBOT wheat Wv1lost 6 cents to $5.74-3/4 per bushel.
Despite a dry end to the U.S. growing season and drought in Brazil that may hamper early planting, corn and soybean markets are expected to be well supplied.
StoneX on Wednesday lowered its U.S. corn production estimate to 15.127 billion bushels from 15.207 billion and raised its estimate for U.S. soybean output to 4.575 billion bushels from 4.483 billion.
Soybean futures gained little support from news of fresh U.S. soybean export sales to China and unknown destinations.
Traders are awaiting next week’s U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand report and September crop estimates before making big moves.
“We want to see something definitive before we jump in with both feet,” said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading.
– Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra
