Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn, wheat and soybean futures all fell on Thursday as investors across the board sought to take profits amid global supply questions, even as the U.S. dollar tumbled on news that U.S consumer prices rose less than expected in October, traders said.
The monthly U.S. inflation reading is being closely watched as a gauge for the pace of further interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Corn futures also struggled as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported export sales of U.S. corn in the week ended Nov. 3 at 265,300 tonnes, below a range of trade expectations for 300,000 to 650,000 tonnes.
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As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
And agricultural futures were weighed down by a government report on Wednesday saying that U.S. corn and soybean inventories will be bigger than previously thought as yields of both crops increased from earlier estimates, traders said.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) settled down three cents at $8.03-1/2 a bushel, after setting a more than two-month low earlier in the session (all figures US$).
CBOT corn settled down 11-1/4 cents at $6.53-1/4 a bushel, while soybeans fell 29 cents at $14.23 a bushel.
“Given what’s happening to the dollar today, it’s somewhat surprising, given that the markets are friendly to grains right now,” said Dax Wedemeyer, a broker and grains analyst with US Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa. “Without some clear strength in the market, there’s just a broad sell-off happening.”
Meanwhile, soybean futures slipped in part on a news report that Argentina could be considering whether to bring back measures to boost soy exports, three traders said.
The Argentine central bank’s already depleted reserves are under renewed pressure, as grains exports from the South American nation have slowed down following a soybean sales bonanza and a drought that is hitting wheat and corn.
— Reporting for Reuters by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
