Chicago | Reuters—Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures fell to a 2020 low on Wednesday, while corn hovered near a four-year low as favorable U.S. crop conditions kept a lid on prices.
Multiple soybean and corn contracts hit lifetime lows as traders see U.S. weather forecasts as posing limited threats to crops during the summer growing period.
Traders expect the U.S. Department of Agriculture will increase its ending stocks and production estimates for U.S. corn in a monthly supply/demand report on Friday.
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There were good gains for the Chicago soy complex during the week ended Feb. 4, due to positive news that Wednesday.
“Supply pressure continues to weigh heavily on the prices,” said Mark Soderberg, analyst at ADM Investor Services.
The most-active soybean contract Sv1settled down 13 cents at $10.67 a bushel, hitting its lowest point since Nov. 4, 2020 while August and September contracts hit lifetime lows.
The most-active corn contract Cv1ended down 1-1/4 cent at $407.25 a bushel. September and March corn futures hit life-of-contract lows.
CBOT wheat Wv1closed down 10-1/2 cents at $5.61-1/2 a bushel.
Soy continued to slide as traders remained concerned about weak U.S. export demand, though the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private sales of 132,000 metric tons of soybeans to China for 2024/2025 delivery.
“The market seems disappointed with that sale,” Soderberg said. “All Chinese demand has gone to Brazil, and Chinese demand is lower.”
Traders will eye USDA’s updated estimates for South American production in its Friday report, a day after Brazilian agency Conab is due to release its monthly national crop forecasts.
In wheat, the brisk U.S. harvest and improving crop prospects in Russia have created supply pressure, offsetting concerns about a sharp decline for France’s crop, analysts said.
Falling Russian prices have underscored export competition in wheat, while news that Indiawill sell wheat from its reserves tempered talk that the country may shortly turn to imports, traders said.
—Additional reporting for Reuters by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Bernadette Christina in Indonesia
