Chicago | Reuters—Chicago wheat futures turned lower on Thursday as rains hit drought-stricken areas of the U.S. Plains, traders said.
Corn futures also fell as U.S. harvesting weighed on prices, while soybeans rose on international demand.
Dry weather has aided the U.S. corn and soy harvests this autumn but impeded U.S. winter-wheat planting and hurt crop conditions.
Rain showers hitting dry areas of the Plains are adding much-needed moisture to the region’s germinating wheat crop, though. Drought was affecting 62 per cent of the U.S. winter wheat crop as of Tuesday, up from 58 per cent a week earlier, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
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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.
The most-active wheat contract Wv1 on the Chicago Board of Trade settled down 2-3/4 cents at $5.70-1/2 per bushel. Corn Cv1 settled down 3/4 cent at $4.10-3/4 per bushel, and soybeans Sv1 settled up 3-1/4 cents to $9.94-1/2 per bushel.
Corn futures swayed up and down as U.S. farmer sales of crops from the autumn harvest outweighed strong U.S. export demand.
“Producers waited until bins were stuffed full until marketing the last part they can’t store,” Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading, said. “That’s going right to the market and pressuring futures.”
A bump in crude oil and palm oil prices helped support the soy complex, Gerlach said.
Strong export demand underpinned corn and soy futures recently despite U.S. farmers harvesting some of the largest crops in history.
The USDA confirmed private sales of 150,000 metric tons of U.S. soymeal to undisclosed destinations for delivery in the 2024/25 marketing year that began Oct. 1.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported export sales of U.S. soybeans in the week ended Oct. 24 at 2.3 million metric tons and U.S. corn sales of 2.3 million metric tons. Both were in line with trade expectations.
Industry players are awaiting Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election outcome.
—Additional reporting by Mei Mei Chu in Beijing and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris
