US soyabeans fell 1.5 percent early on Wednesday as the harvest advanced at a near-record rate and traders squared positions ahead of a government report due on Thursday that is expected to show improved forecasts for the crop in the world's biggest producer and exporter. Corn futures also eased, touching the lowest level in nearly two weeks at the Chicago Board of Trade, as the harvest advanced at the fastest pace ever.
Wheat futures jumped about 1 percent, with the US Agriculture Department appearing set to drop global wheat stocks in the agency's monthly supply and demand report. CBOT November soyabeans were down 22-1/2 cents at $15.27-1/2 per bushel, on track for the biggest daily decline in a week. CBOT December corn fell 3-1/4 cents to $7.38-3/4. CBOT December wheat gained 7-3/4 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $8.72 per bushel.
USDA late Tuesday put the soyabean harvest progress just below the record pace of 2010 while anecdotal yield reports are better than expected in much of the US Midwest growing region, pressuring cash prices. The Linn Group, a Chicago-based commodity research and brokerage firm, on Tuesday said it raised its production and yield estimates for the 2012 US corn and soyabean crops. The firm estimated the US soyabean yield at 38.0 bushels per acre (bpa) and production at 2.819 billion bushels, surpassing the USDA's current estimates for a soyabean crop of 2.634 billion bushels, with an average yield of 35.3 bpa.