Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rose on Thursday, briefly hitting a fresh 10-year high, on forecasts for more showers that will further delay planting in the rain-soaked Midwest, traders said.
Soybean futures eased, with traders noting that the slow pace of corn planting could cause an uptick in soybean acres as the calendar rolls past the ideal seeding date for corn.
“Weather is really a huge factor today,” said Bill Biedermann, a partner at AgMarket.Net. “The weather maps suggest that there could be some significant rains in quite a bit of the Corn Belt.”
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Wheat futures ended weaker after trading both sides of unchanged during the session, with a weak export sales report from the U.S. Agriculture Department pressuring the market.
Chicago Board of Trade July corn futures were up 3/4 cent at $8.13-1/2 a bushel (all figures US$). Prices peaked at $8.19-3/4, the highest for the most-active contract since August 2012.
“The weather is still cold and wet for the Midwest, and not looking to warm up any time soon,” Charlie Sernatinger, global head of grain futures at ED+F Man Capital said in a note to clients.
Signs of strong export demand added support to corn. Private exporters reported the sale of 1.088 million tonnes of corn to China, USDA said.
A weekly report showed corn export sales totaled 1.71 million tonnes, up 35 per cent from a week earlier.
CBOT July soybeans were down eight cents at $16.84-3/4 a bushel.
Soyoil futures were strong, hitting a new record high for the second day in a row on support from Indonesia’s decision to widen the scope of a palm export ban to include raw materials for cooking oil.
Traders do not expect Indonesia to maintain the measure for very long, given limited storage capacity and a loss of revenue.
CBOT July soft red winter wheat was down 5-1/2 cents at $10.85-3/4 a bushel.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton in Beijing.
