Chicago | Reuters—Chicago soybean and corn futures firmed on Tuesday after hitting multi-year lows on bargain buying and forecasts for lower harvests in some parts of the world, according to analysts.
Wheat fell to new life of contract lows after an earlier recovery on steadily advancing U.S. harvest data, as well as cheap Russian crop.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s crop progress data released on Monday failed to show the improvements expected by the trade for the corn and soy crop, staying at 68 per cent good to excellent condition.
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Both crops also climbed on bargain buying, with the market oversold, said Mark Soderberg, senior agricultural market analyst at ADM Investor Services.
“We’re probably overdue for this type of a bounce,” Soderberg added.
Soderberg noted the Ukraine Agrarian Council’s Tuesday announcement that its 2024 corn yield could be down 30-35 per cent because of extreme heat and drought as another supportive factor.
While the impact of high winds in the Midwest overnight was still unclear, Soderberg said the storms were less devastating than an August 2020 derecho.
Most active Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn Cv1 gained 4-1/2 cents to close at $4.08-3/4 a bushel and soybeans Sv1added 3-1/4 cents, ending at $10.43-1/4.
USDA data released on Monday showed strong ratings for the condition of spring wheat and steady advancement in the winter wheat crop, but Egypt and Algeria both called wheat import tenders on Monday in what traders viewed as a response to lower prices, and offers in Egypt’s tender on Tuesday highlighted large supplies of competitively priced Russian wheat.
“Russia just keeps trying to undercut everybody else in the global marketplace,” Soderberg said.
Meanwhile the USDA’s crop progress data showed 71 per cent of winter wheat harvested, as compared to 63 per cent last week and 77 per cent of spring wheat in good to excellent condition.
CBOT most active September wheat Wv1 lost 1-3/4 cents to finish at $5.30-3/4.
—Additional reporting for Reuters by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore
