US wheat futures fell on Tuesday for the third straight session, hitting a three-week low on poor demand prospects amid a massive global stockpile, traders said. Corn also eased as investors digested a US Department of Agriculture report that showed farmers had surpassed the typical pace of seeding after a slow start to planting.
Soyabeans were firm, supported by strong export demand for US supplies despite a massive crop from South American producers Brazil and Argentina. At 12:05 p.m. CDT (1705 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade July soft red winter wheat futures were down 1-1/2 cents at $4.21-3/4 a bushel. Prices bottomed out at $4.20-1/4, the lowest for the most active contract since April 25, when it hit $4.16.
"Wheat is again being weakened by prospects of big global supplies, with crops in the northern hemisphere developing overall positively, reinforcing prospects of good harvests this summer," said Stefan Vogel, head of agricultural commodity markets research at Rabobank. CBOT July corn was 2-1/2 cents lower at $3.65-1/4 a bushel. Corn futures hit their lowest since May 8.
The USDA said the US corn crop was 71 percent planted as of May 15, up from only 47 percent the previous week and above analysts' estimates of 68 percent in a Reuters poll. CBOT July soyabean futures were up 6-1/4 cents at $9.71-1/2 a bushel. The USDA said on Tuesday morning that private exporters reported the sale of 132,000 tonnes of soyabeans for delivery to unknown destinations during the 2016/17 marketing year.