Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rose on Thursday on technical buying and short covering following a two-week slide that took prices to 2-1/2 year lows.
Soybean futures fell in a profit-taking retreat from multi-month highs posted after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unexpectedly slashed its U.S. plantings estimate and as recent rains were expected to benefit the crop.
Wheat futures were steady to lower following sharp gains in the previous session.
After sizeable price moves over the past several trading sessions, traders paused and assessed recent rains that boosted corn and soybeans in some parts of the Midwest but missed crops in others.
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Further showers and mild temperatures are expected in the central and southern Midwest over the next two weeks, aiding corn that is entering its crucial pollination phase. Northern crop areas, however, may remain stressed amid forecasts for below-normal precipitation.
“Corn was just oversold technically and we’re going into pollination so we were due for a bounce. In beans, we had a big up day after that (acreage) report and now we’re seeing some profit taking,” said Craig Turner, commodities trader at Daniels Trading.
Weekly U.S. Drought Monitor data showed marginal improvement in parts of the corn belt and further deterioration in others. As of Tuesday, 60 per cent of soybeans and 67 per cent of corn remain affected by drought, down three points from a week earlier.
Chicago Board of Trade December corn rose 13 cents to $5.06-1/2 a bushel after hitting the lowest for a most-active contract since January 2021 in the prior session (all figures US$).
November soybeans fell 15-1/2 cents to $13.39-1/2 a bushel, but held technical support at its 200-day moving average.
CBOT September soft red winter wheat was down 16-1/4 cents at $6.58 a bushel after surging five per cent on Wednesday. Hard red winter and spring wheat contracts were narrowly mixed.
— Reporting for Reuters by Karl Plume in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
