Posted on October, 4, 2024 at 03:17 am
Chicago wheat and corn futures dipped on Thursday on technical trading after surging to June highs this week.
Wheat had climbed to a 3-1/2-month peak as traders monitored drought in the important Black Sea region and signs of possible Russian export caps. Corn exceeded a three-month peak on Wednesday, underpinned by strength in crude oil against a backdrop of military escalation in the Middle East.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade pulled back 11-3/4 cents to $6.03-1/2 a bushel. The most-active Dec corn contract fell 4-1/4 cents to $4.28-1/4 a bushel.
“It’s a market that sets back, but you don’t really have a knock-out punch,” said Don Roose, founder of U.S. Commodities. “The funds continue to seasonally get out of their short positions.”
Soybeans futures also weakened on forecasts for rain in top producer Brazil, where dry conditions have slowed planting, analysts said.
Prices were supported by hot, dry weather in soybean-growing regions of the central U.S., Roose said. “The soybean moisture is just too dry and field loss is too high.”
Most-active Nov soybeans dropped 10 cents to $10.46 a bushel.
Wheat traders watched Russia, the biggest global supplier of the grain. Oryol on Wednesday became the latest region in Russia to declare a state of emergency because of poor sowing weather.
Little rain is forecast in Russian winter wheat zones as farmers try to progress with planting, though other parts of the Black Sea region, such as Ukraine and Romania, have received more significant rainfall.
Russia’s grain exporters’ union, meanwhile, has said that recent export volumes were excessive and called for a quota mechanism to limit shipments.
Ukrainian officials also said a Russian drone attack damaged a grain facility near the Danube, underscoring war risks to trade.
Meanwhile Egypt, one of the world’s largest wheat-buyers, is planning to slash wheat imports and spend less on subsidized bread by adding corn or sorghum as ingredients, five industry sources briefed on the plans told Reuters.
Source: Manitoba