Corn futures slip

US corn futures fell 1.4 percent on Thursday on optimism over seeding progress and prospects for the new crop, while soyabeans rose on tight US supplies, traders said. Wheat fell on technical selling and seasonal pressure as the US harvest neared, with the Chicago Board of Trade July contract hitting a six-week low.
At the CBOT, July corn ended down 9-1/4 cents at $6.41-1/2 per bushel after finding support at its 20-day moving average of $6.40-1/4. July soyabeans settled up 14-3/4 cents at $14.27-1/2 after reaching $14.31, the contract's highest level since March 28. Trade was thin, and rumours swirled of a hedge fund buying soyabeans and selling corn.
"Supposedly there was a big hedge fund in London that was buying beans and selling corn on ratio spreads, big time," said Charlie Sernatinger with ED&F Man Capital in Chicago. Others cited favourable US planting weather for corn. Farmers in the Midwest have been planting frantically this week, taking advantage of mostly sunny skies to catch up after a historically slow start this spring.
"Finally we will see some solid progress on corn planting this week, before it gets wet again over the weekend and pushes the farmers out of fields," said Joyce Liu, an analyst at Phillip Futures. Rains this weekend and early next week are likely to stall their progress but also add beneficial soil moisture. Weekly export sales data for corn was disappointing, adding pressure on prices. The US Department of Agriculture reported corn export sales for the 2012/13 and 2013/14 marketing years at 258,500 tonnes, a 10-week low.
Soyabeans advanced, led by nearby contracts on strength from the US cash market. Domestic soya processors continue to pay historically high basis levels to draw out the last of the 2012 soyabean harvest from the country. Processors are finding good demand for soyameal, a high-protein animal feed, and crushing margins remain high while old-crop soyabeans are scarce.
Wheat prices declined as the Northern Hemisphere winter wheat harvest approached, a time of seasonal market pressure. Weekly US wheat export sales totalled 540,700 tonnes, a three-week low. CBOT July wheat finished down 6 cents at $6.87-3/4 a bushel. Additional pressure stemmed from some forecasts for much-needed rain in Russia, where dry conditions are threatening crop prospects.