US corn and soyabean futures firmed on Thursday on concerns that several days of rainy weather expected across the US Midwest could disrupt harvesting of what are forecast to be bumper US crops. Weather forecasters expect heavy rain across much of the western and central Midwest over the next week, likely soaking mature corn and soyabeans in major producing states including Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota.
The wet pattern is expected to delay harvesting that has thus far been ahead of the normal pace. Strong weekly export sales reported by the US Department of Agriculture added to the firm tone in corn and soyabeans, although traders remain concerned about the lagging pace of soyabean sales so far this season due to a lack of demand from China.
The USDA said exporters sold a net 1.43 million tonnes of corn last week and a net 1.52 million tonnes of soyabeans, both near the high end of a range of trade estimates. However, the soyabean sales featured a cancellation of 124,100 tonnes in sales to China, and season-to-date sales remain 13 percent behind a year ago. Meanwhile, corn sales so far this season are 63 percent ahead of a year ago, USDA data showed.
Chicago Board of Trade December corn futures rose 3-1/4 cents to $3.68 a bushel by 11:47 a.m. CDT (1647 GMT), while November soyabeans gained 3 cents to $8.64-1/2 a bushel. Both contracts faced technical resistance at their 50-day moving averages. Wheat futures followed corn and soyabeans higher, with CBOT December futures up 2-3/4 cents at $5.18 a bushel.