SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures lost more ground on Wednesday as early promising results from a US crop tour eased some of the earlier supply concerns over dry weather conditions.
Wheat ticked higher amid strong global demand and an unexpected decline in US spring wheat conditions.
“Reports from the Pro Farmer Midwest crop tour for corn and soybean look promising,” ING said in a note.
Nebraska corn yield prospects and soybean pod counts are higher than last year, but below their three-year averages, scouts on an annual tour of top US production states found on Tuesday.
Indiana corn yield prospects are higher than last year, but below the three-year average, while soybean crop potential in the state is the strongest in five years, scouts on an annual tour of top US production states found on Tuesday.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.1% at $13.45 a bushel, as of 0223 GMT. Corn added 0.3% to $4.80-3/4 a bushel and wheat rose 0.4% to $6.30 a bushel.
The US Department of Agriculture’s crop ratings, released after Monday’s close, fell below expectations. For soybeans, 59% of crops were rated “good to excellent”, below the average analyst expectations of 60%.
Corn fell 1 percentage point to 58%, versus an average expectation that the rating would be unchanged. The spring wheat rating dropped by four points to 38%, against an expectation it would also be unchanged.
Russia’s Sovecon agriculture consultancy has raised its wheat harvest forecast for 2023 to 92.1 million metric tons from 87.1 million, it said on Tuesday.
Soft wheat exports from the European Union so far in the 2023/24 season that started on July 1 reached 4.06 million metric tons by Sunday, compared with 5.12 million a year earlier, data published by the European Commission showed on Tuesday.
Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean and wheat futures contracts on Tuesday, traders said, and net sellers of CBOT corn, soyoil and soymeal futures contracts.