SINGAPORE: Chicago corn and soybeans lost more ground on Monday, with market participants taking positions ahead of US supply-demand reports due later this week amid expectations of near record US output.
Wheat dropped to a one-week low on pressure from ample Black Sea supplies, although lower output in Europe curbed losses. “Buyers in the physical market in Asia are just covering spot demand,” said one trader in Singapore.
“There is not much upside for prices from the current level, given the outlook for US output and overall supplies.”
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) slid 0.4% at $4.04-3/4 a bushel, as of 0339 GMT, while soybeans lost 0.2% to $10.03-1/2 a bushel.
Wheat fell 0.7% to $5.63-1/4 a bushel, having dropped earlier in the session to its weakest levels since Sept. 2 at $5.62 a bushel.
Many traders are waiting for the US Department of Agriculture to release its September crop estimates this week before making big moves.
Some concerns surrounding dry weather in the US Midwest encouraged short-covering in prices last week.
Light rain is expected across chunks of the US Midwest, according to a note from the Commodity Weather Group, but it may be too little and too late to ensure the soybean crop has enough moisture to reach its yield potential.
Brazilian soybean farmers could produce 14% more in the 2024/2025 season, compared with the previous one, a Reuters poll of 10 analysts and market institutions showed, as expectations of more rain in the last quarter of the year rise.
Cheap wheat from Russia and increasing exports from Ukraine have maintained pressure on US wheat futures.
Still, wheat prices have been supported by poor harvests in Europe, mainly the largest producer France, which is set to yield the smallest volume in more than 40 years.
Wheat, corn and soy slip after rally but all head for weekly gains
Large speculators trimmed their net short position in Chicago Board of Trade corn futures in the week ended Sept. 3, regulatory data released on Friday showed.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that non-commercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, trimmed their net short position in CBOT wheat and trimmed their net short position in soybeans.