Chicago | Reuters—Chicago soybean futures came under pressure on Thursday on a lack of Chinese demand for the U.S. oilseed while corn futures ticked higher on strong export sales data, analysts said.
Wheat chopped up and down but remained under pressure from ample global supply and beneficial rains in the U.S. Plains.
Chicago Board of Trade most-active corn Cv1 ended 4 cents higher at $4.10 per bushel, and soybeans Sv1 settled 1/2 cent higher at $10.48 per bushel.
U.S. farmers are on track to harvest the nation’s biggest corn crop in history this autumn, as well as a bumper soybean crop.
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Declines in projected planting intentions for 2026/27 were not as big as the market expected, after the United States Department of Agriculture released its estimates on March 31. The USDA also issued its quarterly grain stocks report with stocks for soybeans bigger than anticipated, while those for corn were smaller and wheat virtually matched the average trade guess.
Despite decent export sales, China’s absence in the market has kept a ceiling on soybean futures.
“Sales in the big picture are pretty light,” Mark Schultz, analyst at Northstar Commodity, said.
However, senior Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang is expected to travel to Washington this week to meet U.S. officials for trade talks, a U.S. government spokesperson said.
Wheat futures Wv1 settled 4-3/4 cents higher at $5.29 per bushel, after falling to $5.22-1/4 a bushel earlier on Thursday, a price last seen on August 20. They had already scored a one-week low in the previous session.
Wheat prices are facing headwinds amid higher production forecasts in major exporting countries and expected rainfall in U.S. winter wheat-growing areas in the coming days, analysts said.
Australia is on track to produce 32 million to 35 million metric tons of wheat in its upcoming harvest, said analysts, who raised their forecasts after an improvement in crop conditions and said they could further upgrade them.
—Additional reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
