Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures gained 1.5 per cent on Wednesday, supported by concerns that hot and dry weather in the U.S. Midwest could cut into harvest yields, traders said.
Soybean futures also were firm, recovering from sharp declines after the U.S. Agriculture Department’s monthly world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) report lowered the global demand outlook for crops.
But wheat ended weaker after trading both sides of unchanged, with traders looking for clarity about the potential for a resumption in Black Sea shipments from war-torn Ukraine.
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Corn and soybean yields in the United States were left unchanged in the latest supply/demand estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, released July 11, although a reduction in harvested area led to small downward revisions to production for the crops.
The gains in corn, which closed higher for the fifth time in six sessions, came as the U.S. crop nears its crucial pollination phase of development.
“Intense heat is building in the Plains, which is expected to periodically pulsate deeper into the Midwest over the next several weeks,” Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for broker StoneX, said in a note to clients. “An overall trend of below normal rainfall is also expected across most of the Ag Belt over the next several weeks.”
Chicago Board of Trade December corn futures, which track the crop being grown in the fields, settled up 8-3/4 cents at $5.95-1/4 a bushel (all figures US$).
CBOT November soybeans were 6-1/2 cents higher at $13.49-1/2 a bushel after hitting a one-week low during the overnight trading session.
“It is probably a little short-covering after what has been a pretty epic decline in a very quick fashion,” said Greg Grow, director of agribusiness at Archer Financial Services. “You are going to get some dead cat bounces along the way.”
CBOT September wheat was down 3-1/2 cents at $8.10-3/4 bushel.
Traders also were monitoring negotiations regarding wheat exports from war-torn Ukraine.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that an “important and substantive step” was made toward a comprehensive deal to resume Black Sea exports of Ukraine grain after talks between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and U.N. officials on Wednesday.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
