GRAINS-Soy and corn extend fall on improved crop conditions; wheat retreats
By Gus Trompiz and Naveen Thukral
PARIS/SINGAPORE, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Chicago soybean and corn futures lost more ground on Tuesday as a government crop report confirmed improving field conditions for both crops after widespread rain in the U.S. Midwest.
Wheat gave back some of Monday’s sharp gains, which had been fuelled by war risks to Black Sea supplies, with traders monitoring an Egyptian import tender to gauge competitiveness of Russian wheat.
A stronger dollar and a drop in crude oil prices as weaker than expected Chinese trade figures stoked economic concerns also weighed on grain markets, analysts and traders said. [MKTS/GLOB]
The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.9% at $12.90 a bushel by 1057 GMT after touching a one-month low.
CBOT corn gave up 0.7% to $4.92-1/4 a bushel but held above Monday’s three-week low.
Weekly condition ratings for U.S. soybean and corn crops improved more than analysts expected in the past week, though the spring wheat score slipped, U.S. government data showed on Monday.
The crop data kept attention on favourable Midwest weather, which is set to continue in the week ahead with more showers and moderate temperatures expected.
“U.S. weather forecasts are perfect during this critical production window for U.S. soybeans, the macro environment is bearish and price seasonals point lower,” Peak Trading Research said in a note.
Bumper harvests in Brazil also remained a curb on U.S. corn and soybean prices.
Consultancy AgRural further increased its estimate for Brazil’s corn output in 2023 after positive yields were reported for the country’s second crop.
CBOT wheat fell 1.2% to $6.49-3/4 a bushel after climbing nearly 4% on Monday.
Traders were assessing whether military escalation in the Black Sea after Ukrainian strikes on Russian vessels would affect massive Russian exports.
Russian wheat was the cheapest origin in Egypt’s tender on Tuesday, though traders noted an unusually low turnout by suppliers who were believed to have been discouraged by payment terms.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore Editing by David Goodman ) ((gus.trompiz@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 52 18; Reuters Messaging: gus.trompiz.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: GLOBAL GRAINS/ (UPDATE 1)
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