Posted on September, 11, 2023 at 10:04 am
Chicago soybeans inched down on Friday as expectations of large supply from South America curbed prices while the market awaited a clearer picture of the upcoming U.S. harvest.
Corn was little changed as attention turned to monthly crop forecasts from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), due on Tuesday, to gauge the impact of hot, dry weather in the U.S. Midwest. USDA/EST
Wheat ticked down as traders assessed ongoing efforts to preserve exports from war-torn Ukraine.
Trading was subdued, with grain markets also awaiting direction from weekly U.S. export sales and Canadian stocks estimates later on Friday.
The most-active Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures Sv1 were down 0.1% at $13.58-1/2 a bushel at 1103 GMT, after earlier touching their lowest since Aug. 23.
Corn Cv1 was unchanged on the day at $4.86-1/4 a bushel.
After record Brazilian soybean and corn crops expected this year, a shift to wetter weather in Argentina with the El Nino climate pattern could ease drought for next year's harvest.
The Buenos Aires grains exchange on Thursday forecast Argentina's 2023/2024 soybean crop at 50 million metric tons, more than double last year's level, along with a rebound in corn output.
In the United States, traders are grappling with yield potential for soy and corn after a parched end to summer, though weather forecasts are showing cooler conditions and some showers in the week ahead.
"The pressure (on Chicago prices) was partly due to improved U.S. weather forecasts and optimistic crop forecasts in South America," brokerage Copenhagen Merchants said in a note.
CBOT wheat Wv1 eased 0.5% at $5.96-3/4 a bushel.
Traders noted Ukrainian exports via Croatia as a further sign of continued flows from Ukraine, despite almost daily attacks by Russia on Ukrainian grain ports.
However, Ukrainian grain exports fell sharply in Sept. 1-7 from a year earlier, farm ministry data showed on Friday, suggesting war disruption may be starting to weigh.
"It is by no means certain that Ukrainian exports are being left entirely unscathed by the Russian attacks," Commerzbank said.
Source: Nasdaq