- Soybeans fall for 2nd day on rapid U.S. planting progress
- Corn eases with no delay to U.S. planting despite rains
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By Naveen Thukral
SINGAPORE, June 1 (Reuters) – Chicago soybean and corn futures slid for a second session on Wednesday as both markets came under pressure from rapidly progressing planting across the U.S. Midwest.
Wheat edged higher following deep losses which were triggered by forecasts of improved harvest conditions for the U.S. hard red winter wheat crop.
The Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybean contract Sv1 had fallen 0.6 percent to $10.72-1/2 a bushel by 0303 GMT, having closed down 0.7 percent on Tuesday. Corn Cv1 dropped 0.3 percent to $4.03-1/2 a bushel after closing the last session down 1.9 percent.
Wheat Wv1 advanced 0.2 percent to $4.65-1/4 a bushel, having dropped 3.5 percent on Tuesday. Earlier in the session it hit a low of $4.63 a bushel, its weakest since May 25.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture pegged the condition of corn at 72 percent good to excellent, slightly ahead of market expectations.
U.S. farmers had finished planting 94 percent of the crop as of Sunday as compared with 86 percent last week, the agency said after the market closed on Tuesday.
Soybean plantings were 73 percent complete, the USDA said, sharply higher than 56 a week ago and above the average pace of 66 percent.
“While rain over the holiday weekend may have been a nuisance for fieldwork it does not appear to have slowed U.S. planting progress by all that much,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
U.S. farmers have sold nearly double the usual amount of new-crop soybeans this spring, taking advantage of a 14-percent rally in the futures market to lock in profits on a crop that most have not even finished planting yet.
The sales could depress soybean basis bids – the difference between the futures market and the cash price – at grain terminals around the U.S. Midwest during harvest.
Wheat was under pressure on Tuesday as weather forecasts call for improving U.S. harvest conditions for the winter crop.
The USDA said condition of winter wheat crop 63 percent good to excellent, ahead of analysts’ forecasts.
Spring wheat was pegged at 79 percent good to excellent, ahead of forecasts for 76 percent good to excellent.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, soybean and wheat contracts on Tuesday.
Trader estimates of net fund sales in corn ranged from 8,000 to 13,000 contracts and 5,000 to 10,000 in soybeans. Estimates of fund selling in wheat ranged from 6,000 to 12,000 contracts.
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