Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rebounded on Tuesday from the steepest percentage decline in nearly a year during the previous trading session on worries about weather-reduced crops in several key production areas around the world.
Corn futures bounced from the prior session’s contract lows on caution over stressful weather in a crucial month for the U.S. crop.
Late-session selling fueled by concern about a trade fight with top importer China pushed soybeans to contract lows.
Traders also squared positions ahead of Wednesday’s U.S. Independence Day holiday, when markets will be closed.
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Chicago Board of Trade September wheat futures rose 10-1/2 cents, or 2.2 per cent, to $4.91 a bushel (all figures US$).
September corn gained five cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $3.52 a bushel. New-crop December futures ended up 5-1/4 cents at $3.64-1/4.
August soybeans ended down 5-1/2 cents at $8.48 a bushel after notching a contract low of $8.46-3/4. New-crop November also set a contract low and closed 5-1/4 cents lower at $8.64-1/4 a bushel, the weakest settlement price for a most-active contract since March 3, 2016.
Wheat led the advance in grains on short covering and technical buying and as adverse weather has dented crop production prospects in France, the Black Sea region and other key wheat areas around the world.
Hot weather in the U.S., meanwhile, has raised concerns about the corn crop in the Midwest, which is due to begin pollinating this month. Recent excessive rain and flooding has also hurt crops in parts of the Corn Belt.
“We are starting to hear more about problems in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, a pretty important area of production with too much water. And this heat dome is hanging on for a while and there’s talk that warm nights are affecting the corn crop,” said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading.
The International Grains Council on Monday cut its forecasts for 2018-19 global wheat and corn production as adverse weather dented prospects in Russia and the European Union.
Soybean futures remain anchored by an ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute that pushed prices to the lowest close in two years on Monday.
Beijing is notably due to hike tariffs on U.S. soybeans, the most valuable U.S. farm export to China, from July 6 to a level expected to diminish Chinese demand for U.S. shipments.
— Reporting for Reuters by Karl Plume in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
