Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn futures fell for a second consecutive session on Thursday, to the lowest in months, on a more favourable weather outlook for US crops and news of new US tariffs on Chinese goods, traders said. CBOT September corn settled down 7-1/2 cents at $3.92-3/4 per bushel, and touched their lowest prices since May 16.
New-crop December corn also lost 7-1/2 cents at $4.02-1/2 per bushel - and touched the lowest prices since May 17. Forecasts for cooler weather eased concerns about the prospects for the coming crop. Conditions for the US Midwest predicted below-average temperatures for this time of year, with rains hitting the Southern Plains. USDA said export sales of US corn totaled 272,600 tonnes, below forecasts for 300,000 to 850,000 tonnes.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday moved to impose a 10% tariff on a remaining $300 billion list of Chinese imports starting Sept. 1, after US and Chinese negotiators failed to kickstart trade talks between the world's two largest economies. Brazil - the world's largest soybean exporter - could see record corn and soy harvests in the 2019-20 season, dependent on good weather, as farmers are expected to broaden plantings, Datagro Consultoria said on Wednesday.
The US dollar climbed on Thursday after the Federal Reserve cut rates a day earlier but cautioned it was not necessarily the start of a cycle of monetary loosening - but it turned negative after President Donald Trump on Twitter threatened to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods.