Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures sank on Wednesday, weighed down by signs of abundant supplies and dim prospects for U.S. exports, traders said.
The front-month K.C. hard red winter wheat contract shed 2.5 per cent and hit its lowest in more than eight years, while the most actively traded Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) December soft red winter wheat contract touched contract lows.
The drop in wheat weighed on corn prices, which hit their lowest since June 22, while soybeans retreated on technical selling after firming early in the session.
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A firm dollar, which makes U.S. commodities relatively more expensive to overseas buyers, cast a bearish tone across the sector. Dollar strength tends to hit wheat the hardest, as export deals for the grain are priced in local currencies.
The front-month K.C. hard red winter wheat contract ended down 10-1/2 cents at $4.48 a bushel (all figures US$). Prices bottomed out at $4.45-1/2, their lowest since April 4, 2007.
CBOT reported on Monday evening that were 184 new deliveries against the expiring K.C. September hard red winter wheat contract, reflecting the abundant supplies on the cash market.
CBOT December soft red winter wheat settled down 7-1/4 cents at $4.79 a bushel. Prices matched a contract low of $4.76-1/2 earlier in the trading session.
But traders said the declines were unlikely to drum up much interest from overseas buyers for U.S. supplies. Egypt’s GASC, the top buyer of wheat, tendered to buy an unspecified amount of wheat after the closing bell. U.S. wheat was not even offered in the tenders issued by Egypt last week.
Some private forecasts for bumper harvests of both crops in the U.S. added pressure to corn and soybeans.
CBOT December corn was 1-1/2 cents lower at $3.67-1/2 a bushel while CBOT November soybeans settled unchanged at $8.74. Deferred contracts finished in negative territory.
A turnaround in crude oil prices pulled soybeans from session lows.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters correspondent covering grain markets from Chicago. Additional reporting for Reuters by Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
