Chicago | Reuters—U.S. corn futures fell to a three-week low on Tuesday, sliding for a third successive session on tariff tensions and improving weather outlooks for South American crop regions, analysts said.
Wheat followed corn lower as weather threats to Northern Hemisphere winter crops diminished, while soybean futures were narrowly mixed in choppy trade.
Chicago Board of Trade May corn CK25 settled down 2-3/4 cents at $4.94-1/4 a bushel after falling to $4.88-1/2, its lowest since February 3. CBOT May wheat WK25 ended down 5-3/4 cents at $5.87-3/4 a bushel while May soybeans SK25 rose 1-1/4 cents to finish at $10.48-3/4 a bushel.
Read Also
U.S. grains: Wheat futures rise on supply snags in top-exporter Russia
U.S. wheat futures closed higher on Thursday on concerns over the limited availability of supplies for export in Russia, analysts said.
Commodity funds held a massive net long, or bought, position in CBOT corn futures, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s last weekly commitments report, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of long liquidation.
“I think we are seeing a little bit of hot air coming out of the board, with the managed money still net long a very large amount,” said Terry Reilly, senior agricultural strategist with Marex.
In South America, heavy rains in Argentina were bringing relief to corn and soy crops that have struggled with hot and dry weather. Showers were likely to continue over the next few days and mark a turning point for drought-hit soybean and corn crops, the Rosario grains exchange said on Monday.
Broad pressure in grain markets stemmed from fears that U.S. tariffs would trigger reprisals against U.S. agricultural exports. President Donald Trump said proposed levies on imports from Mexico and Canada were on track to be implemented.
Grain traders were also turning their attention to a U.S. Department of Agriculture conference later this week at which the USDA will give early supply and demand projections for next season.
Wheat futures fell on milder weather in top global wheat supplier Russia and the United States.
“The Black Sea area has warmed up. There is no winterkill threat over there anymore,” said Tom Fritz, a partner with EFG Group in Chicago.
Grain consultancy Sovecon raised its forecast for 2025/26 Russian wheat exports to 38.9 million metric tons, from 38.3 million metric tons previously, but lowered its export forecast for 2024/25 to 42.2 million metric tons.
—Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra
