Chicago | Reuters—Chicago Board of Trade corn and soy dipped in choppy trade on Tuesday as traders weighed U.S. planting progress and strong corn ratings with adverse weather in importer Mexico and downgrades to soybean harvest forecasts in major exporter Brazil.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Cv1settled down 1 cent to close at $4.42-1/2 per bushel. CBOT soybeans Sv1 inched down 5-1/2 cents to settle at$11.79 per bushel.
“The market is starting to look at the international arena of weather,” said Dan Basse, president of AgResource.
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A drought and intense heat in top U.S. corn importer Mexico could damage the country’s crop and stimulate demand for U.S. corn, traders said.
Soybean losses related to recent floods in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul were estimated at 2.71 million metric tons, crop agency Emater said on Tuesday, in line with private forecasts ranging from 2.8 million to 3 million tons.
The release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s crop progress report on Monday underscored a favourable start to the U.S. growing season and strong conditions for U.S. corn, but traders said the positive news had mostly been factored into the market.
“People had expected a good rating and good crop, so it’s not much of a surprise,” said Austin Schroeder, an analyst at Brugler Marketing.
Wheat futures slipped on strong ratings of U.S. winter wheat as the harvest advances, traders said. Concerns over frost and drought damage to the Russian wheat crop are fading, analysts said.
“You’re running out of steam with the Russian story, Schroeder said. “It’s still supportive long term, but you’re losing momentum with that.”
Benchmark Chicago wheat Wv1 slipped 14-1/2 cents to settle at $6.58-1/4 a bushel.
—Additional reporting for Reuters by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Bernadette Christina in Jakarta
