US corn, soyabean and wheat futures were trading close to unchanged on Monday morning, steadying after all three commodities posted sharp gains last week. Prices recovered from overnight weakness on technical buying but plentiful global supplies limited the potential upside for the markets, traders said.
At 1026 a.m. CST (1626 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade March soyabean futures were up 1 cent at $10.60 a bushel. The most-active contract hit a 2-1/2 week high on Friday. Good weather in key crop-growing areas of South America bolstered expectations of a bumper harvest in Brazil and Argentina, with some analysts saying the US Agriculture Department's most recent production forecasts were too low.
"Local estimates from Brazil continue to come in higher than USDA, and weather in Argentina appears to be improving, too. Most of the growing region was dry over the weekend, and forecasts do not show the threat of widespread heavy rains that could cause flooding," Farm Futures senior analyst Bryce Knorr said in a note to clients.
Brazil's Abiove said it expected local soyabean production would hit 104.6 million tonnes, up from its December forecast of 101.7 million. It pegged the country's soyabean exports at 58.7 million tonnes. CBOT March soft red winter wheat futures were 1/4 cent lower at $4.48-3/4 a bushel, consolidating after hitting a seven-month high last week.
The Australian Bureau of Agriculture, Resource Economics and Rural Sciences said the country's 2016/17 wheat harvest was a record 35.13 million tonnes. CBOT March corn was unchanged at $3.74-1/2 a bushel. Corn futures hit a seven-month high on Friday.