CHICAGO: Chicago corn, wheat and soybean futures fell on Tuesday to trade near their lowest since 2020 as US crop data and weather charts reinforced expectations of big harvests while worries about Chinese demand also hung over commodity markets.

Rains forecasted for the US Midwest are expected to benefit the region’s crop, which notched high condition ratings in the US Department of Agriculture’s Monday crop progress report. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 16-3/4 cents at $10.22-3/4 per bushel as of 1545 GMT, near Monday’s low of $10.18 - a level not seen since October 2020.

CBOT corn slipped 5 cents to $4.07-1/4 a bushel, hovering near a November 2020 low. CBOT wheat fell 6-3/4 cents at $5.24-1/4 a bushel, near an August 2020 low. Wheat futures have been under pressure from an advancing US harvest and low Russian wheat prices.

In its weekly crop progress report on Monday, USDA rated 67% of soybean crops and 68% of corn as being in good-to-excellent condition. “There’s no real weather threats right now,” said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading. Rains have also allayed concerns about hot, dry weather in the previous week damaging the corn and soy crop.

“We’ve seen a pretty sharp turnaround in the discussions about weather,” said Rich Nelson, strategist at Allendale. US farmers continue to sit on large supplies of old-crop soybeans and corn, adding pressure to prices. “You’ve reached a seasonally tough time of the year where anyone who hasn’t sold has to sell before harvest to free up bin space,” said Gerlach.