SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures lost more ground on Monday, while corn slid to its lowest in almost a week, as pressure from mounting supplies weighed on the market amid uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. election.
Wheat touched a seven-week low, dragged down by improved weather in the U.S. Plains and expectations of a bumper southern hemisphere supply.
“There was some support from strong demand last week, but we have plenty of corn and soybeans around the world and the U.S. harvest is adding to those supplies,” one Singapore-based trader said. “Also, South American weather is conducive for plantings.”
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.7% at $9.90-3/4 a bushel, as of 0429 GMT, and corn eased 0.4% to $4.13-1/2 a bushel.
Wheat dropped 0.8% to $5.64-1/4 a bushel, after hitting its lowest since Sept. 9 earlier in the session.
Hefty soybean and corn supplies from rapidly progressing U.S. harvest are providing headwinds to prices, despite some gains last week on the back of strong demand.
Republican Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris are polling neck-and-neck in crucial swing states ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Investors are anxious about a contested result, roiling world markets and unleashing fresh geopolitical uncertainty.
CBOT soybeans, corn drop on supply pressure
For wheat, the recent rains and forecasts of more wet weather in drought-hit U.S. Plains eased concerns about planting delays.
Expectations of bumper supplies from the southern hemisphere weighed on prices.
Argentina’s wheat exports could hit 13.3 million metric tons for the 2024-25 season, which would mark the second-highest year on record, the Rosario grains exchange said on Friday.
Australia is expected to produce an above-average crop despite suffering some weather damage in recent months.
China’s grain output is set to exceed a record 700 million metric tons this year, a key agriculture ministry official said, calling for continued efforts to ensure stable supply.
That figure is 0.7% higher than the 2023 harvest of 695.41 million tons, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
There was additional pressure on grains and oilseed from weakness in energy markets.
Oil prices tumbled more than $3 a barrel after Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran over the weekend bypassed Tehran’s oil and nuclear facilities and did not disrupt energy supplies, easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Large speculators trimmed their net short position in CBOT corn futures in the week ended Oct. 22, regulatory data released showed.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that non-commercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and increased their net short position in soybeans.