Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybeans fell for a third consecutive session on Thursday, but ended the month higher as recent export activity and fears that dry weather damaged crops lent support.
Wheat ended lower after trading both sides of even, pressured by plentiful global supplies.
Corn ended the day and the month lower after well-timed rains earlier in the season aided U.S. crops.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) lost 18 cents, to $13.68-3/4 a bushel, the biggest daily decline since Aug. 15 (all figures US$). For the month, the most-active soybean contract added 2.68 per cent, its biggest monthly gain since June 2023.
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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.
CBOT wheat lost five cents to $6.02 a bushel after falling to $5.93-1/2, the lowest for a most-active contract since June 1. For the month, the most-active wheat contract fell 9.69 per cent, its biggest monthly decline since November 2022.
CBOT corn dropped 2-1/2 cents to $4.78-1/4 a bushel, falling 6.58 per cent for the month, the biggest decline since June 2023.
Ample supplies of Russian wheat have weighed on U.S. wheat futures, though Black Sea wheat exports have been stifled by the war in Ukraine. Russia denies its export issues have contributed to food shortages in Africa.
Russia’s foreign ministry said the Russian and Turkish foreign ministers would discuss a Russian proposal for an alternative to the Black Sea grain deal this week.
“The long-term fundamental story in wheat is actually not terrible,” said Joe Vaclavik, president of Standard Grain. “Global supplies, compared to demand, it’s a fairly tight situation.”
Recent soybean exports, combined with hot, dry weather in the U.S. pushed soybean futures to a one-month high of $14.10 on Monday.
But headwinds remain. U.S. government data on Monday showed that soybeans had suffered less damage from recent hot, dry conditions than feared, while low water levels on the Mississippi River have hampered export enthusiasm.
“This last week we’ve seen some selling pressure,” said Dan Hussey, senior market strategist at Zaner Group. “But I think there is still an underlying uptrend in the soybeans that hasn’t been invalidated.”
Soybean losses have been muted by five consecutive trading days of daily soybean sales notices from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The agency confirmed private sales of 132,000 metric tons of U.S. new-crop soybeans to China on Thursday.
For the week ended Aug. 24, soybean export sales of 1.073 million metric tons were in line with trade expectations.
Corn export sales of 1.063 million metric tonnes and wheat export sales of 344,100 tonnes were also in line with trade expectations.
— Reporting by Christopher Walljasper in Chicago; additional reporting by Naveen Thukral, Peter Hobson and Sybille de La Hamaide.
