US soya and wheat futures fell on Monday on positioning ahead of a monthly US Department of Agriculture crop supply/demand report and uncertainty about the ongoing US-China trade dispute, traders said. A higher dollar added pressure, making US grains less competitive on global markets. But corn was choppy, supported at times on private exporters selling more than 1.6 million tonnes of US corn to Mexico.
As of 1:13 p.m. CST (1913 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade March soyabeans were down 6 cents at $9.23 per bushel. CBOT March wheat was off 6-1/4 cents at $5.25 a bushel, and March corn fell 1-1/2 cents at $3.84. "The ags have largely been stagnant thus far today, facing modest headwinds from the outside markets, with traders also being cautious ahead of tomorrow's USDA crop report," INTL FCStone chief commodities economist Arlan Suderman wrote in a client note. The USDA last month trimmed its forecast of US 2018-19 soyabean exports to 1.9 billion bushels from 2.06 billion. Some think the final US soya export figure will be lower, given the virtual halt in purchases by top buyer China.
The US-China trade row continued to hang over the market. US-China trade negotiations need to reach a successful end by March 1 or else new tariffs will be imposed, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Sunday, stressing the "hard deadline" after a week of seeming confusion from Washington.
CBOT corn found underlying support after the USDA confirmed that private exporters sold 1,645,920 tonnes of US corn to Mexico, including 1,104,900 tonnes for delivery in the 2018-19 marketing year that began Sept. 1. Wheat futures declined on technical selling and profit-taking after the CBOT March contract on Friday hit a 5-1/2-week high on larger-than-expected weekly US export sales.
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