Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell about one per cent on Monday, with nearby months hitting contract lows as the harvest of a bumper crop picked up speed in the Midwest and early yield reports were strong, traders said.
Soybean futures also declined on harvest progress, along with disappointing U.S. soy crush data and ongoing concerns about U.S. trade disputes with top global soy buyer China. Wheat slipped as well.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would announce his latest plan on Chinese commerce on Monday. He was expected to level tariffs on about $200 billion of Chinese imports, and China has said it would retaliate (all figures US$).
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Chicago Board of Trade December corn settled down 3-3/4 cents at $3.48 a bushel after dipping to $3.47-3/4, a contract low.
November soybean futures ended down seven cents at $8.23-1/2 a bushel, hovering just above a contract low set last week at $8.21-1/4. CBOT December wheat fell 5-1/4 cents to $5.06-1/4.
Corn fell on a mix of technical selling and seasonal pressure as combines rolled in the Midwest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week projected the average U.S. corn yield at 181.3 bushels per acre and the average soybean yield at 52.8 bushels per acre, both record highs.
After the CBOT close, USDA said the U.S. corn harvest was nine per cent complete, near an average of analyst estimates for 10 per cent and ahead of the five-year average of six per cent.
USDA said the soybean harvest was six per cent complete, just above the average analyst estimate of five per cent and ahead of the five-year average of three per cent.
Soybean futures were also pressured by a lower-than-expected monthly crush figure. The National Oilseed Processors Association said its members crushed 158.885 million bushels of soybeans in August, a figure that fell below a range of trade expectations.
However, the figure still represented NOPA’s largest August total on record, reflecting strong profit margins that encouraged an active crush pace.
CBOT wheat futures declined but the December contract held above last week’s two-month low, underpinned by uncertainty about supplies in major exporters Russia and Australia.
Possible frost damage over the weekend in western Australia threatened to further dent a crop already diminished by drought in the east.
After the close, Egypt’s main state grain buyer set tenders to buy an unspecified amount of wheat from global suppliers for two shipment periods, Nov. 1-10 and Nov. 11-20. Results were expected on Tuesday.
— Julie Ingwersen is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
