Corn, soybeans steady after fall as crop weather assessed

PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago corn and soybeans futures edged up on Wednesday, steadying after a two-day fall as traders assessed crop prospects in the US Midwest with a mixture of rain and high temperatures forecast for the coming days.

Wheat futures lost ground as advancing harvests in the United States and Europe, plus an Egyptian import tender dominated by Black Sea origins, kept attention on abundant world supply.

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade was up 0.1% at $4.41-3/4 bushel by 1157 GMT.

It had earlier extended its losses into a third day, but held above Tuesday's low before rebounding slightly.

Corn prices hit a five-year high of $4.64-3/4 on Monday amid concerns that hot, dry weather could further hamper crops that already endured poor planting conditions due to torrential spring rain.

CBOT soybeans were up 0.4% at $9.09-1/4 a bushel, after also recovering from a small earlier fall.

CBOT wheat eased 0.3% to $5.06-1/4 a bushel.

Better than expected official weekly crop ratings on Monday and showers in parts of the Midwest have pressured corn and soybean prices this week, although traders were still monitoring heat, with temperatures set to exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32°C) in much of the Midwest in the coming days before easing.

"After a slight improvement of the crop's condition published earlier this week by the USDA, the new heatwave expected on the Corn Belt has pushed the forecasted rains into the background," consultancy Agritel said in a note.

The USDA surprised traders on Monday by raising its condition rating for US corn to 58% good-to-excellent in a weekly report. That was up from 57% a week earlier and above market expectations for 56%.

US soybeans were rated 54% good-to-excellent, up from 53% last week and above analysts' expectations for 53%.

This week's rainfall could further boost crop conditions, although the run-up to crucial growth stages for crops has kept traders cautious.

"Corn and beans are facing pressure as there have been some beneficial rains but there could be trouble if it gets hot," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist, National Australia Bank.

Wheat traders are awaiting the results of a tender from Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), in which traders said Ukrainian wheat was offered the cheapest on a free-on-board basis.

As in recent Egyptian tenders, wheat from Black Sea suppliers Ukraine, Russia and Romania dominated the bidding, with no US or western European wheat offered.