Corn, wheat slide on profit-taking as US corn seeding winds down

CHICAGO: US corn futures declined on Tuesday as government data showing a rain-delayed planting campaign was nearing an end encouraged a pause in a rally that took prices to a five-year high a day earlier.

Wheat futures sank on profit-taking and competition for global export business.

Soybeans edged higher, supported by ongoing US planting delays and renewed optimism about US-China trade talks.

Chicago Board of Trade July corn settled down 5 cents at $4.49-3/4 per bushel.

CBOT July wheat ended down 8 cents at $5.31-1/2 a bushel while July soybeans finished 3/4 cent higher at $9.13-1/2 a bushel.

Corn halted a five-session rally, a day after the US Department of Agriculture said the 2019 US crop was 92% planted, matching trade expectations. The USDA rated 59% of the crop in good to excellent condition, unchanged from the week before.

"Corn planting is virtually done. We won't see a lot more acres," said Brian Hoops, president of Midwest Market Solutions.

Traders booked profits after the July contract hit $4.64-1/4 on Monday, the highest for a most-active contract since June 2014.

Wheat declined after the July contract on Monday touched a six-month top. A firmer dollar, which tends to make US grains less attractive on the world market, added pressure.

Traders "don't like the lack of competitiveness in US corn and wheat. So I guess we are focusing on the demand side, with the market kind of overbought," said Dan Cekander, president of DC Analysis.

Traders shrugged off support from a slow US winter wheat harvest pace. The USDA said the harvest was 8% complete by Sunday, lagging trade expectations and the five-year average of 20%.

Soybean futures found support as US farmers struggled to plant saturated fields. The USDA said soybean seeding was 77% complete by Sunday, behind the five-year average of 93%.

Analysts noted that about 19 million acres of soybeans were left to plant, given the USDA's 2019 seedings projection  of 84.6 million acres.

"You've got more rains coming in the next week. I don't know how you get the rest planted," said Roy Huckabay with Linn & Associates, a Chicago brokerage.

CBOT soybean futures firmed after US President Donald Trump said he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit later this month, and that trade talks between the two countries were set to restart ahead of time.

China is the world's biggest soy buyer, but its imports of US soybeans have been stalled since the middle of 2018 due to trade tensions.

CBOT soyoil futures rose as traders digested Monday's monthly crush report from the National Oilseed Processors Association, Cekander said. The NOPA report showed US processors crushed fewer soybeans than expected in May, tightening soyoil supplies, while soyoil ending stocks fell more than expected.