Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures fell 2 percent and corn sagged 1 percent on Monday on forecasts for better crop weather across a broad swath of the soggy US wheat and corn belts, traders said. Soyabeans also slipped 1 percent on improved US crop prospects due to recent rains following last year's historic drought which sharply reduced crop production.
A Chinese customs report showing tepid imports of oilseeds and cereals in March also lent pressure to wheat, corn and soyabean futures prices. At 9:23 am CDT (1423 GMT), CBOT May wheat was down 13-3/4 cents per bushel at $6.95-1/4, May corn was down 8 at $6.44 and May soyabeans were down 11-3/4 at $14.16-1/2.
Excessive rainfall and cold weather over the past two weeks has slowed corn plantings and harmed some of the winter wheat crop. But the rains also added valuable soil moisture ahead of the 2013 planting and growing seasons, leading to prospects for bumper crops which weighed on grain and soya prices on Monday.
The US Department of Agriculture said on April 15 that 2 percent of the US corn crop had been planted, below last year's 16 percent seeding pace at this point and below the 7 percent five-year average. The General Administration of Customs of China on Monday reported China's wheat imports in March were 46 percent below a year ago, corn was down 50 percent and soyabeans were down 20 percent. For the year, wheat imports were down 38 percent, corn was down 41 percent and soyabean imports were down 13 percent.
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