US wheat futures fell on Friday to a one-week low, pressured by forecasts for much-needed rain late next week in the southern Plains winter wheat belt, analysts said. Corn followed wheat lower amid a lack of fresh supportive news, and soyabeans turned down, erasing early advances, as nervous traders booked profits ahead of the weekend.
As of 11:48 a.m. CDT (1648 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade May wheat was down 11 cents at $4.70 per bushel, after dipping to $4.69-3/4, its lowest since April 6. May corn was down 3-1/2 cents at $3.85-1/4 a bushel and May soyabeans were down 6-1/4 cents at $10.54-1/2 a bushel. Wheat slid for a third straight session as traders assessed prospects for showers late next week in the southern Plains, where the region's hard red winter wheat is developing amid drought conditions.
Updated forecast models shifted the track of a storm expected next Friday slightly to the north, the Commodity Weather Group said in a client note, but it could still generate beneficial moisture. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday reported export sales for old and new crop US wheat in the latest week at 188,700 tonnes, below trade expectations.
This came after the USDA on Tuesday raised its forecast of US 2017/18 wheat ending stocks by more than expected, and increased its outlook for world wheat stocks to an all-time high. Soyabeans turned lower on profit-taking after the spot May contract touched $10.67-1/4, its highest in a month, buoyed by demand from exporters and domestic crushers and worries about the drought-hit Argentine soya harvest.
Argentina, the world's No. 3 soyabean producer, has struggled with a drought that has slashed its crop. However, yield prospects are bright in neighboring Paraguay and Brazil.
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