US grain and soya futures fell further on Monday as technical selling and outlooks for favorable crop weather continued to pressure prices following steep declines last week. MGEX spring wheat futures plummeted by about 4 percent, with the September contract shedding 25-1/2 cents to a nearly two-month low of $6.48-1/2 per bushel.
More actively traded Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat eased 3-3/4 cents to $4.35-1/2 per bushel at 11:45 a.m. CDT (1645 GMT). CBOT November soyabeans were down 11-3/4 cents to $9.33-1/2 and CBOT December corn off 2-3/4 cents to $3.72. The losses came in the wake of a monthly US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report on Thursday that showed bigger-than-expected US corn and soyabean yield estimates and a smaller-than-expected cut in the spring wheat crop.
Rainfall this week should also benefit crops. About 70 percent of US corn- and soyabean-growing areas should receive rains in the next five days, according to the Commodity Weather Group. Steep declines in MGEX spring wheat were likely speculative investors liquidating long bets following the USDA report last week. Spring wheat surged to a two-year high of more than $8 per bushel in early July amid drought conditions in the northern United States, enticing investors into the relatively thinly traded wheat contract, before prices started to retreat.