U.S. corn climbs to 1-month top, wheat up for 3rd day
Corn rises for 6th day as USDA cuts crop forecast
Soy gains after Friday’s contract low prices (Adds details, quotes) By Naveen Thukral
SINGAPORE, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Chicago corn futures rose for a sixth consecutive session on Monday to a one-month high with prices underpinned by a surprise reduction in the forecast for the U.S. crop.
Soybeans gained 0.8 percent as the market recovered from last session’s contract low prices while wheat gained more ground on the back of the rally in corn futures.
Chicago Board of Trade December corn added 0.8 percent to $3.90-1/4 a bushel by 0244 GMT, the strongest since Aug. 12. Corn rallied 3.4 percent on Friday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reduced its estimate of U.S. production.
November soybeans rose 0.8 percent to $8.81-1/2 a bushel after dropping to a contract low of $8.53-1/4 in the last session. December wheat gained 0.9 percent to $4.89-1/4 a bushel.
“The USDA cut crop estimates because of the wet weather in parts of the U.S. Midwest,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, referring to corn production.
“The recovery (in soybeans) has come as corn prices advanced on better news.
” Corn production was seen at 13.585 billion bushels, down from the government’s August forecast of 13.686 billion bushels.
The USDA lowered its yield projection to 167.5 bushels per acre from 168.8 bushels per acre. Analysts expected the report to show corn production at 13.599 billion bushels and an average yield of 167.6 bushels per acre. Soybean ending stocks for the 2015/16 crop year were lowered by 20 million bushels to 450 million bushels, reflecting increased demand from crushers. The 2014/15 soy end stocks view was lowered to 210 million bushels from 240 million bushels.
Analysts had been expecting soy ending stocks of 223 million bushels for 2014/15 and 415 million bushels for 2015/16.
For wheat, Russia’s Agriculture Ministry will raise purchase prices for its grain intervention fund and has drawn up proposals to ease the burden of export duty, Deputy Agriculture Minister Evgeny Gromyko said on Saturday, Russian agencies reported.
Large speculators switched to a net short position in CBOT corn futures in the week to Sept. 8, regulatory data released on Friday showed.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and trimmed their net short position in soybeans.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL4N11K1DJ/
