US corn futures rose on Monday, on pace for their fifth straight session of gains and holding near the highest levels in a year, on better-than-expected demand and as heavy rains limited yield potential of the new crop. Soyabeans were also higher on punishing showers while wheat futures fell as much as 2 percent on lacklustre export demand.
Corn and soyabeans reversed from earlier narrow losses to turn higher in follow-through buying in the wake of the US Department of Agriculture's supply and demand outlook on Friday, in which the government showed smaller-than-expected stockpiles of the crops. Warmer temperatures in the United States were likely to benefit developing corn and soyabean plants but rains also moved through northern and central portions of the Midwest crop belt, leaving unneeded moisture after record precipitation in May and June.
"(Corn) stocks are expected to be lower and wet weather is hurting the crop," said Kaname Gokon, general manager of research at brokerage Okato Shoji in Tokyo. Chicago Board of Trade September corn was up 2 cents at $4.36-3/4 per bushel as of 11:02 am CDT (1602 GMT), just below its one-year high from Friday of $4.39-1/4. CBOT August soyabeans were 1/4 cents higher at $10.32-1/4.
CBOT September wheat was 4 cents lower to $5.72 per bushel while MGEX September spring wheat fell 2 percent to $5.94-1/4 per bushel. USDA on Friday increased global wheat supplies by more than 12 million tonnes and projected US ending stocks to the highest levels in five years. "Given what we saw out of the USDA report last week, wheat should be under pressure," said CHS Hedging analyst Joe Lardy.
Top global wheat importer Egypt last week purchased Russian and Ukrainian supplies, with US grain priced more than $50 per tonne than the grain shipped out of the Black Sea region. A higher dollar on Monday was seen as expanding the competitive disadvantage for US wheat in global markets. "We're not competitive - we're more than a country mile away," Lardy said.