US corn futures fell to life-of-contract lows on Friday, pressured by disappointing weekly US export data and forecasts for benign weather in the heart of the Midwest crop belt, analysts said. Wheat futures followed corn lower and soyabeans turned down, retreating from early advances. As of 1:04 p.m. CDT (1804 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade December corn was down 3 cents at $3.55-3/4 per bushel after hitting a contract low at $3.53. CBOT December wheat was down 3-1/4 cents at $4.63 a bushel and November soyabeans were down 3 cents at $8.58-1/2 a bushel.
Corn fell after the US Department of Agriculture reported export sales of US corn in the latest week at 250,800 tonnes (old and new crop years combined), below a range of trade expectations for 500,000 to 900,000 tonnes. Also, forecasts called for beneficial rains next week in portions of the Corn Belt, with no sign of a cold spell that could shorten the growing season for this year's late-maturing corn and soya crops.
Private analytics firm IEG Vantage, formerly known as Informa Economics IEG, raised its forecast of the average US 2019 corn yield to 169.6 bushels per acre (bpa), from 167.8 a month ago. The figures followed crop estimates released Wednesday by commodity brokerage INTL FCStone, which raised its US corn yield estimate to 168.4 bpa, from 167.4 last month.
The US Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release updated monthly US and world crop production estimates on Sept. 12. For soyabeans, IEG slightly raised its US yield forecast to 48.4 bpa, from 48.2 last month, and INTL FCStone on Wednesday raised its soya yield forecast to 48.3 bpa, from 47.2 previously. Soyabean futures drew support from the USDA reporting weekly soyabean export sales at 857,900 tonnes (old and new crop years combined), above trade expectations. But soya futures sagged on technical selling and outlooks for mild weather that should bolster production prospects.
Comments
Comments are closed.