Grain futures were mostly stable or lower on Friday as worries over the weather eased and in line with a broad sell-off in commodities markets. But soybeans recovered slightly after a slump on Thursday. Corn could suffer more losses in the days ahead as crop conditions improve for the heart of the US Midwest, a prime production region, analysts said.
"Unless the weather pattern changes the market has no power to go up at the moment," said Genichiro Higaki, head of the proprietary fund management team at Sumitomo Corp in Tokyo. "There is overall weakness in the commodities markets, that is another reason." By 0930 GMT, Chicago Board of Trade September corn was down 0.5 percent or 3-1/2 cents at $6.27-3/4 a bushel after losing 27-1/4 cents on Thursday.
CBOT September wheat was unchanged at $8.09-1/2. Soybeans for August delivery edged 0.5 percent or 7 cents higher $15.28 per bushel. The contract settled down 52 cents at $15.21 a bushel on Thursday as the market was hit by the Argentine Senate's decision to reject a tax hike on soybean exports that had sparked a political crisis and paralyzed trade in one of the world's leading soy exporters.
The vote was tied and in a surprise move Vice President Julio Cobos broke the tie by voting against it. The lower house had earlier passed the tax. Grain prices have been trending lower the past two weeks - corn off almost 18 percent since hitting an all-time high last month and soybeans falling more than 8 percent after notching a record top of $16.63 two weeks ago.
Mild weather across the US Midwest should be favourable for corn and soybean development for at least the next week, a forecaster said on Thursday. A slump on US markets on Thursday and a good crop outlook also weighed on European grains and oilseeds in early trade.
Benchmark November on Euronext milling wheat futures was 0.50 euro or 0.3 percent lower at 189.00 euros a tonne. November maize was down 0.8 percent at 195 euros and November rapeseed lost 0.6 percent at 437 euros a tonne. "All agriculture commodities markets extend their fall due to globally satisfactory to very satisfactory crops in the northern hemisphere and in a context of funds pulling out of commodities and oil," French analyst Agritel said on Friday.
Oil dropped by $5 on Thursday, extending a decline of about 12 percent from last week's record on worries over US demand and easing political tensions between Iran and the West over the Opec producer's nuclear programme.