Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures fell 2.7 percent on Wednesday to a three-month low on technical selling, plentiful global supplies and forecasts for rains in the US Plains, analysts said. Soyabean futures slid as soyaoil prices hit their lowest in nearly six years, and corn also declined. At the CBOT, March wheat settled down 13-3/4 cents at $5.05-1/4 per bushel.
March soyabeans fell 3-1/2 cents at $9.70-1/4 per bushel, and front-month soyaoil ended down 0.83 cent at 30.34 cents per lb after touching 30.05, its lowest since March 2009. March corn finished down 8 cents at $3.73-1/4 a bushel. Wheat fell as the lead contract threatened to dip below $5 for the first time since October. "There is nothing fundamentally to prove the funds wrong from profiting on these negative charts," said Arlan Suderman, analyst with Water Street Solutions.
"We are getting good rains expected in dry areas of the Plains. We could have big deliveries on the March contract. We have ample supplies overseas that are cheaper because of our strong dollar," Suderman said. Others noted weakness in other commodities such as crude oil and gold. Mike Zuzolo of Global Commodity Analytics said the markets were in the grip of "a mindset that commodity demand is softening as the dollar goes up."
CBOT soyabeans followed soyaoil lower on fears of an influx of South American supplies, following news that US regulators will allow Argentine biofuel makers to qualify for US biofuel credits. An official with the US Environmental Protection Agency said, however, that the new program will not prompt higher flows of fuel imports from the South American country.
Corn fell for a third straight session, with the March contract hitting its lowest since November 5, on slowing demand for corn-based fuel ethanol as crude oil prices weaken. "Corn is seeing downward pressure again because of export competition, especially from Ukraine, to US supplies and unattractive ethanol margins as crude oil prices are at low levels," said Stefan Vogel, head of agricultural commodity markets research at Rabobank.
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