Posted on January, 14, 2022 at 08:55 am
Chicago and Paris wheat futures lost more ground on Thursday, pressured by increased estimates of U.S. acreage and inventories as well as reduced expectations for top EU exporter France.
Soybeans and corn edged lower, as weather charts projecting rain relief in parched Argentine growing belts countered support from reduced U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts for South American production.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.4% at $7.55 a bushel by 1211 GMT. March wheat on Paris-based Euronext was down 1.1% at 268.25 euros ($307.20) a tonne after earlier touching a three-month low, also pressured by a firm euro.
The USDA on Wednesday pegged U.S. winter wheat acreage, U.S. end-of-season stocks and world wheat stocks above average analyst estimates. In Europe, farming agency FranceAgriMer cut its forecast of French soft wheat exports in 2021/22 and increased its 2021/22 stocks projection to a 17-year high.
Consultancy Strategie Grains, meanwhile, on Thursday trimmed its forecast for European Union wheat exports, citing like FranceAgriMer a drag from stalled French sales to Algeria. "The market is realising that our export pace isn't great," a European trader of wheat. Traders are watching to see if Algeria will again overlook French supplies in a tender on Thursday.
CBOT soybeans were down 0.8% at $13.88 a bushel, after facing chart resistance near the $14 threshold following gains on Wednesday. CBOT corn gave up 0.3% to $5.97-1/4 a bushel.
Latest weather forecasts confirming the prospect of significant rainfall in parts of Argentina from late this week were curbing soybean and corn prices. However, some analysts said potential yield losses after recent heatwaves and drought in South America could maintain supply tensions in grain markets.
"At first glance, it appears the USDA produced a slightly bearish report. Yet la Nina-related dryness in Brazil and Argentina is not fully reflected by USDA," Rabobank analysts said in a note.
USDA reduced its forecasts of soybean and corn production in Brazil and Argentina, although some private analysts have cut their outlook more steeply.
Prices at 1211 GMT Last Change Pct End Ytd Pct Move 2021 Move CBOT wheat 755.00 -2.75 -0.36 770.75 -2.04 CBOT corn 597.25 -1.75 -0.29 593.25 0.67 CBOT soy 1388.00 -11.25 -0.80 1339.25 3.64 Paris wheat 268.25 -3.00 -1.11 278.50 -3.68 Paris maize 241.75 -1.25 -0.51 226.00 6.97 Paris rape 765.00 -14.00 -1.80 754.00 1.46 WTI crude oil 82.63 -0.01 -0.01 75.21 9.87 Euro/dlr 1.15 0.00 0.09 1.1368 0.74 Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per tonne ($1 = 0.8732 euros) (Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Chizu Nomiyama)
Source: Successful Farming