- Chicago Corn firms after hitting a near 1-month low
- Easing concerns over U.S. crop to keep lid on prices
- Wheat up almost 1 pct after two days of declines
Adds details, quotes
By Naveen Thukral
SINGAPORE, June 22 (Reuters) – Chicago corn edged up on Wednesday after hitting a near one-month low earlier in the session on headwinds from improving prospects for the U.S. crop.
Wheat gained ground with concerns over the Black Sea crop supporting prices, while soybeans inched up on strong demand for U.S. products.
Chicago Board of Trade most-active corn contract Cv1 was up 0.6 percent at 3.98-1/2 a bushel as of 0230 GMT, after dropping to its lowest since May 24 earlier in the session.
Soybeans Sv1 gained 0.3 percent to $11.13-1/2 a bushel and wheat Wv1 added 1 percent to $4.63 a bushel, heading for its first gain in three sessions.
“Good rain has fallen over a significant portion of the U.S. Midwest, with some follow-up falls expected later this week,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
“Consequently, concerns over seriously dry conditions will remain contained within the southwestern Corn Belt for at least a few more weeks. The additional rain will buy crops elsewhere some additional time.”
Corn’s 5.9 percent drop on Tuesday was the biggest since July 2013 for the most-active contract. After the close, the CME Group, parent of the Chicago Board of Trade, said it would change the daily trading limit in corn to 40 cents a bushel for Wednesday’s session, expanding from the normal limit of 25 cents.
Commodity funds had built up a massive net long position in CBOT corn in recent weeks on strong demand tied to tightening South American supplies and uncertainty about the U.S. growing season.
But the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s weekly crop progress report released late on Monday rated 75 percent of the U.S. corn acreage in good to excellent condition, unchanged from the previous week, despite a hot spell in the Midwest. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected a decline in crop ratings. US/COR
Forecasters called for much-needed rains this week, easing worries about dryness. The USDA’s report showed topsoil moisture declining in big corn states, including Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.
Soybean futures rose as fresh export sales of U.S. soybeans and soyoil lent underlying support. The USDA said private exporters sold 132,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China for 2016/17 delivery.
Wheat rose on support from renewed concerns over the Black Sea crops.
Rainy weather has reduced protein levels in Russian wheat and raised concerns over fungal disease while also reducing the proportion of milling wheat in Ukraine.
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