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Soybeans rebound on Chinese buying, corn falls on LatAm outlook – RTRS

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  • Soybeans up after 2-day decline, demand underpins prices
  • Corn eases as Brazil plantings progress in benign weather

SINGAPORE, Nov 15 (Reuters) – Chicago soybean futures edged higher on Tuesday snapping two sessions of declines and recovering from its lowest in more than three weeks on support from China’s persistent demand.

Corn fell for a third consecutive session, hovering close to its lowest since early October as near-perfect planting weather across Brazil anchored the market.

The Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybean contract  Sv1 rose 0.3 percent to $9.86-3/4 a bushel by 0314 GMT, having closed down 0.2 percent on Monday.

Corn  Cv1 gave up 0.4 percent to $3.36 a bushel, having dropped on Monday to its lowest since Oct. 3 at $3.35-1/2 a bushel, and wheat  Wv1 slid 0.1 percent to $3.93-1/2 a bushel.

“Export activity is bullish for soybeans, strong Chinese demand was confirmed by the USDA,” said Kaname Gokon at brokerage Okato Shoji in Tokyo.

“There is plenty of corn supply in the United States and South American plantings are progressing well in normal conditions.”

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed on Monday private sales of 456,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans.

China, which buys more than 60 percent soybeans traded worldwide, has been actively booking U.S. cargoes in recent weeks.

U.S. farmers have nearly finished gathering soybeans with the latest USDA report putting the harvest progress at 97 percent, slightly above the five-year average of 95 percent.

Corn harvest was 93 percent complete, almost matching the average pace of 92 percent.

Farmers in Brazil were actively planting corn with recent rains in dry areas boosting crop prospects, traders said.

Wheat is under pressure as the U.S. dollar has strengthened, making U.S. grains less attractive on the world market. The country exports about 40 percent of its wheat crop.

The dollar is closing in on a test of its highest level in almost 14 years as bond yields soared after Donald Trump’s election to president, bringing buyers back to the U.S. currency. USD/

Russian farmers have sown winter grains on the largest area in the last seven years and will plant more in the coming weeks, improving prospects for the 2017 crop, analysts said.

Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, wheat, soybean and soyoil contracts on Monday but were net buyers of soymeal, traders said.  

 

Grains prices at 0314 GMT

 Contract    Last    Change  Pct chg  Two-day chg  MA 30   RSI
 CBOT wheat  393.50  -0.50   -0.13%   -2.36%       409.29  30
 CBOT corn   336.00  -1.25   -0.37%   -1.25%       347.84  34
 CBOT soy    986.75  2.50    +0.25%   +0.08%       988.08  38
 CBOT rice   9.40    $0.00   +0.00%   -3.24%       $10.17  24
 WTI crude   44.18   $0.86   +1.99%   +1.77%       $48.09  36
 Currencies
 Euro/dlr    $1.075  $0.001  +0.13%   -0.94%
 USD/AUD     0.7561  0.001   +0.15%   +0.15%
 Most active contracts
 Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per
 hundredweight
 RSI 14, exponential

Soybeans ease from 1-month top; corn, wheat fall (RT)

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  • Soybeans dip after Tuesday’s 1.8-pct rally to 1-month top
  • Chicago corn falls 0.4 pct, wheat gives up 0.5 pct

SINGAPORE, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Chicago soybeans fell for the first time in five sessions on Wednesday, with the market taking a breather after climbing to a one-month high in the last session on concerns over rains delaying the U.S. harvest.

Corn gave up 0.4 percent after a 1-percent gain on Tuesday, while wheat eased to snap three sessions of gains.

The Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybean contract Sv1 had declined 0.3 percent to $9.86-1/2 a bushel by 0321 GMT, having hit its highest since Aug. 25 at $9.94 a bushel.

Corn Cv1 lost 0.4 percent to $3.39 a bushel and wheat Wv1 dropped 0.5 percent to $4.04 a bushel.

“Rains are resulting in harvest delays for soybeans in the U.S. Midwest and old-crop inventories are tight. If the harvest keeps getting delayed, there could be problems with deliveries,” said Rajesh Singla, head of agriculture research at Societe Generale.

“For corn, we do not see immediate bullish factors. Planting in Brazil is progressing well but we are keeping a close watch on the La Nina weather pattern which has the potential to bring dryness over South America.”

Strong soybean demand is providing additional support.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday that exporters had sold another 110,000 tonnes of soybeans to China for delivery during the 2016/17 marketing year.

The USDA said after the market close on Monday that 9 percent of U.S. corn had been harvested as of Sunday, down from the five-year average of 12 percent for this time of the year and analyst estimates of 11 percent. (

The agency said 4 percent of U.S. soybeans had been harvested, down slightly from 5 percent on average.

In the wheat market, focus is turning to Indian demand.

Indian importers have purchased around 76,000 tonnes of Ukrainian-origin wheat in the past couple of weeks as India steps up purchases after two years of poor output.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean, corn and wheat futures contracts on Tuesday. They were also net buyers of soymeal and soyoil, traders said.

Corn up for 2nd day on expectations of lower U.S. yields (RT)

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  • Corn up from 1-week trough, market eyes lower U.S. yields
  • Wheat eases after Wednesday’s gains, soybeans dip

SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Chicago corn futures rose for a second session on Thursday, recovering from one-week lows on expectations of further reductions in estimates for U.S. corn yields.

Wheat edged lower after gaining about half a percent in the last session, although the decline wasreined in by prospects of strong demand for U.S. shipments with lower supplies in Europe.

The Chicago Board of Trade most-active corn contract Cv1had climbed 0.2 percent to $3.32-1/4 a bushel by 0305 GMT, after hitting a one-week low at $3.26-1/2 a bushel on Wednesday.

Soybeans Sv1 dipped a quarter of a cent to $9.42-1/2 a bushel and wheat Wv1 gave up 0.1 percent to $4.02-1/2 a bushel.

“We see scope for a further downgrade in USDA’s corn yield estimates and see continued strength in U.S. corn exports amid a severe shortage of corn outside the U.S,” said Rajesh Singla, head of agriculture research at Societe Generale.

“La Nina weather can impact LatAm corn production.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture trimmed its corn harvest outlook slightly from the previous month, but the crop is still expected to be the largest in history.

The agency on Monday reduced its U.S. corn production forecast to 383.4 million tonnes from 384.9 million tonnes estimated in August.

Lower wheat output in Europe is preventing further declines in wheat prices.

France, Europe’s largest grain producer, harvested 28.5 million tonnes of soft wheat this year, down from a record 40.9 million in 2015, FranceAgriMer said on Wednesday after adverse spring weather hampered crop development.

U.S. soybean processors likely cut back on their pace of crushing during August as some processors shut down for seasonal maintenance to ensure plants would be ready to handle the influx of beans from the upcoming harvest, analysts said.

The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA), the largest U.S. trade group for the industry, is expected to report that its members crushed 136.233 million bushels of soybeans in August, based on the average of estimates by six analysts.

The NOPA report is scheduled for release on Thursday at 1600 GMT.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn and wheat futures contracts on Wednesday and net sellers of soybeans.

USDA sees higher record U.S. soy crop, futures fall (RT)

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WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) – The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Monday that record U.S. soybean yields and production would be higher than previously forecast due to improved crop conditions during August, a critical development period for the oilseed.

The USDA, in issuing its latest monthly U.S. crop forecasts,also trimmed its corn production and yield projections from its August outlook. Even so, they were pegged near the high end of analysts’ forecasts and USDA reiterated its expectation for a record harvest of the yellow grain.

The increased soybean production outlook outstripped rising demand from the domestic and export sectors, and USDA raised its outlook for supplies left at the end of the 2016/17 marketing year, commonly referred to as end stocks.

For corn, 2016/17 U.S. end stocks were lowered by 25 million bushels to reflect the reduced harvest expectations but remained on track to be the biggest since the 1987/88 marketing year.

“USDA increased (soybean) crush for next year and exports for next year, but you still ended up with production outweighing the demand increases,” said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading in Indiana.

Soybean futures Sv1 fell to session lows after the report was released. Corn Cv1 also hit a session low but quickly recovered its losses to hover around unchanged.

USDA left its domestic wheat end stocks view unchanged in its supply and demand report, roughly in line with market expectations.

In the monthly update, USDA forecast the 2016/17 U.S. soybean crop at 4.201 billion bushels, based on an average yield of 50.6 bushels per acre. That topped analysts’ forecasts that ranged from 4.019 billion bushels to 4.162 billion bushels for production and 48.1 bushels per acre to 50.1 bushels per acre for yield.

Corn production was seen at 15.093 billion bushels, down from the government’s August estimate of 15.153 billion bushels. USDA lowered its corn yield view by 0.7 bushels per acre to 174.4 bushels per acre.

On the supply side, the government cut its 2015/16 soybean ending stocks view to 195 million bushels from 255 million bushels. Analysts, on average, had expected 2015/16 soy ending stocks of 232 million bushels. The move reflected a 60 million-bushel increase in exports for the marketing year.

For 2016/17, USDA pegged soybean ending stocks at 365 million bushels, up from 330 million bushels in its August report, due to the increased harvest view.

The government said 2015/16 U.S. corn ending stocks would be 1.716 billion bushels, up 10 million from August due to lower exports. For 2016/17, domestic corn stocks were pegged at 2.384 billion bushels.

China imports will keep U.S. soybean market on its toes -Braun (RT)

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CHICAGO, Sept 9 (Reuters) – When it comes to assessing demand for U.S. soybeans, never underestimate the Chinese.

China’s penchant for the oilseed has mushroomed in recent years, complementing growth in the country’s livestock sector, particularly pork. As the world’s largest soybean consumer, China will use over 40 percent more soybeans than the world will have in storage next year.

The United States just began its 2016-17 soybean marketing year, and China will have a big say in how much supply is left over at the close of next August.

The increasing likelihood of a record-large soybean crop in the United States, one of China’s key suppliers, may have at least temporarily masked some of the risk to the domestic balance sheet.

Analysts expect U.S. soybean production to increase in Monday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand report, but they expect 2016-17 ending stocks to remain relatively unchanged near 330 million bushels.

Although this reflects that huge yields will be offset by increasing demand, there is the potential for demand to pull U.S. soybean inventory even lower throughout the next year if China’s recent habits remain the same.

CHINA BY THE NUMBERS

In 1996-97, China imported just over 2 million tonnes of soybeans and a decade later this figure had climbed to 29 million tonnes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has projected China to import 87 million tonnes in the 2016-17 marketing year, which will begin on Oct. 1. This is the equivalent of 3.197 billion bushels, and for comparative purposes, the United States produced 3.929 billion bushels of soybeans last year.

To put China’s massive soybean demand trend into perspective, the East Asian country now accounts for nearly two-thirds of the world’s imports of the oilseed. When subtracting China from the mix, the global soybean import trend over the past 20 years is practically rendered flat

As the world’s two biggest soybean producers, the United States and Brazil are naturally China’s primary suppliers. Over the last couple of years, the two countries have been responsible for 85 to 90 percent of China’s total soybean imports

Not surprisingly, China buys the majority of soybeans that Brazil and the United States export. In 2014-15, some 72 percent of Brazil’s shipments were imported by China, and the corresponding figure for the United States was 59 percent.

The United States supplies the first half of China’s marketing year while Brazil takes over the second half. Peak soybean shipments from the United States to China occur around December, and Brazil will peak between April and May

LITTLE INCREASES ARE HUGE

In May 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture placed Chinese soybean imports for the new 2014-15 marketing year at 72 million tonnes. At the conclusion of the season in late 2015, China had actually imported 78.35 million tonnes.

In May 2015, the initial estimate for the nearly completed 2015-16 year was 77.5 million tonnes. As of last month, USDA expected that China will import 83 million tonnes of soybeans in the current marketing year.

The lesson? China’s soybean appetite seems limitless, as its annual imports have been significantly underestimated in the past two years.

The difference in the initial and final Chinese soybean import figures from 2014-15 was 233 million bushels, very close to the 255 million bushels that the United States is estimated to have left over after its recently concluded 2015-16 marketing year.

China may not reach 83 million tonnes in 2015-16, though, as Shanghai-based analyst JC Intelligence Co Ltd (JCI) said on Thursday that September soybean imports may fall below 6 million tonnes.

This would be well below last September’s 7.3 million tonnes.

Through August, China has imported 76 million tonnes of soybeans. But even an optimistic assumption of 6 million tonnes imported during September would land the final volume about 6 percent higher than the initial assumptions – a difference of 165 million bushels.

The brief slowdown in imports should be only temporary, according to JCI. Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans received a boost last week as a delegation of buyers signed agreements to purchase nearly 4 million tonnes at a signing ceremony in Indianapolis.

In the United States, about 41 percent of the expected soybean export volume for 2016-17 has been booked through Aug. 25. This rate is very comparable to previous years and implies that U.S. soybean shippers are about to get pretty busy in a couple of months, especially if sales continue on a strong course.

Maybe it is hard to imagine that China’s potential 87 million-tonne haul could edge much higher over the next year or so, but then again, it was probably difficult to fathom a volume over 30 million tonnes just a decade ago.

Of course, Brazil’s harvest early next year will be crucial in just how much of the oilseed China can acquire, as well as the timing and the source. But the United States will take the leading role in supplying China with soybeans for at least the next six months, and it is a good idea to pay attention because increasing Chinese demand could cut down U.S. supply in a jiffy.

  • Graphic-Global soybean imports since 1996/97; with and without China
  • Graphic-Soybean suppliers to China, 2013-2016
  • Graphic-China soybean imports by month from U.S. and Brazil

Soybeans up for 4th day on weather concerns, strong demand (RT)

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  • Soybeans rise, wet weather threatens to delay harvest
  • China-led strong demand underpins Chicago soybean prices
  • Corn dips as U.S. harvest kicks off, wheat ticks higher

Adds comment, detail

SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Chicago soybeans rose for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, with prices underpinned by strong demand and concerns over excessive wet weather delaying the U.S. harvest.

Corn prices remain under pressure as farmers start gathering a record-sized U.S. crop, while wheat ticked up after closing marginally lower on Tuesday.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Sv1 had risen 0.1 percent to $9.61 a bushel by 0306 GMT, having firmed 0.8 percent on Tuesday when it hit the highest since Aug. 30 at $9.64 a bushel.

Corn Cv1 was unchanged at $3.28-1/2 a bushel, after dropping to multi-year lows last week and wheat Wv1 gained 0.2 percent to $3.99-1/4 a bushel.

“The U.S. Midwest is likely to receive more rain this week than had previously been forecast,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

“While meteorologists have downplayed the impact on crops, plenty of market chatter about delays to maturation and harvesting is doing the rounds.”

Soybean prices drew support from a USDA report showing export inspections of U.S. soybeans in the latest week at 1,232,739 tonnes, above a range of trade expectations for 700,000 to 950,000 tonnes.

Gains in soybeans are being capped by the healthy condition of the U.S. crop so far this season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture rated the soybean crop as 73 percent good-to-excellent, unchanged from last week. Analysts had expected a slight decline in ratings.

The USDA rated 74 percent of the U.S. corn crop in good-to-excellent condition, in line with trade expectations and down from 75 percent the previous week.

The government has not yet issued a national figure for corn harvest progress, but state reports pegged the harvest as 1-percent complete in Illinois and 8-percent complete in Missouri.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean futures on Tuesday and small net sellers of corn and wheat. COMFUND/CBT

Meanwhile, Canada’s wheat stockpile shrank to its smallest mid-summer level on record, a Reuters trade survey estimated ahead of a government crop report.

Grains prices at 0306 GMT
Contract Last Change Pct chg Two-day chg MA 30 RSI
CBOT wheat 399.25 0.75 +0.19% +0.00% 424.63 31
CBOT corn 328.50 0.00 +0.00% +0.00% 333.07 47
CBOT soy 961.00 1.25 +0.13% +0.89% 979.77 37
CBOT rice 9.53 $0.01 +0.05% +1.11% $9.81 39
WTI crude 45.10 $0.27 +0.60% +1.49% $44.42 47
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.125 $0.000 +0.01% +0.98%
USD/AUD 0.7669 -0.002 -0.22% +1.20%
Most active contracts
Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight
RSI 14, exponential

Китай отказался покупать украинские зерновые

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  finance.ua

Китай отказался покупать украинский ячмень, сою и кукурузу.

Причина – выявление вредителей, болезней и нематод, запрещенных к ввозу в Китай, сообщает Инфоиндустрия.

В частности:

Вредители:

Стеблевой кукурузный мотылек — Ostrinia nubilalis Hubn. обнаружен в:

Ивано-Франковской области (Тлумацком, Рогатинском р-х), на площади 675,33 га;

Кировоградской области (Александровском р-не), на площади 402 га;

Тернопольской области (Подволочиском, Збаражском р-х), на площади 839 га при обследованиях посевов кукурузы.

Болезни:

Вирус полосатой мозаики пшеницы — Wheat streak mosaic virus обнаружен в:

Николаевской области (Первомайском р-не), на площади 191 га при обследованиях посевов кукурузы.

Кладоспориоз серо оливковый — Cladosporium griseo-olivaceum Pidopl. обнаружен в:

Житомирской области (Овручском и Попельнянском р-х), на площади 398 га., При обследованиях посеве кукурузы.

Вертицилий бело-черный — Verticillium albo-atrum обнаружен в:

Житомирской области (Ружинском р-не), на площади 189,1 га., При обследованиях посеве сои.

Вирус мозаики люцерны — Alfalfa mosaic virus обнаружен в:

Ровенской области (Дубенском р-не), на площади 47 га;

Черниговской области (Нежинском р-не), на площади 155 га, при обследованиях сои.

Вирус штриховатой мозаики ячменя — Barley stripe mosaic virus обнаружен в:

Донецкой области (Первомайском р-не), на площади 64,88 га, при обследованиях ячменя.

Нематоды:

Стеблевая нематода — Ditylenchus dipsaci (kuhn) filipjev. обнаружена в:

Львовской области (Бродовском р-не), на площади 247 га, при обследованиях сои.

Все хозяйства, на полях которых обнаружены вредные организмы кукурузы, сои и ячменя, были оповещены о результатах проверок и экспертиз, им было отказано в будущем экспорте зерна из зараженных площадей (как таковым, которые не соответствуют протоколам фитосанитарных и инспекционных требований КНР по кукурузе, ячменю и сое).

Напомним, украинские аграрии рассказали, где собрались хранить второй по счету рекордный урожай

Wheat comes off 10-yr low on bargain-buying; corn, soy struggle (RT)

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  • Chicago wheat gains for 1st time in seven sessions
  • Wheat prices may have hit bottom around $4 a bushel
  • Corn trades near two-year low as U.S. harvest looms

SINGAPORE, Aug 30 (Reuters) – U.S. wheat futures rose for the first time in seven days on Tuesday, underpinned by bargain-buying after the market tumbled to a 10-year low in the previous session.

Corn hovered near Monday’s two-year low, under pressure from the harvest of an expected record U.S. crop. Soybeans slid for a sixth session in a row.

Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat contract Wv1 gained 0.4 percent to $3.98-3/4 a bushel by 0229 GMT, after hitting its lowest since 2006 at $3.95-1/4 a bushel on Monday.

Corn Cv1 gained a quarter of a cent to trade at $3.21 a bushel, not far off of last session’s low of $3.20 a bushel, its weakest since 2014. Soybeans Sv1 gave up quarter of a cent at $9.64 a bushel.

“I don’t think wheat needs to be below $4 a bushel. Global supply and demand fundamentals haven’t changed in the last one week but we have seen a decline of more than 25 cents in prices,” said Ole Houe, an analyst with brokerage IKON Commodities in Sydney.

“From an Australian perspective, we won’t engage growers at these levels.”

Wheat faced renewed pressure after top importer Egypt reinstated a ban on wheat shipments containing even the slightest amount of a common grain fungus, ergot. The move baffled traders who had returned to the Egyptian market last month when the ban was lifted, and could boost already ample global supplies that have kept a lid on prices.

Russian wheat export prices fell slightly last week as a weakening rouble made Russian grains more competitive.

Black Sea prices for September deliveries of Russian wheat with 12.5 percent protein content were $172 a tonne on a free-on-board basis at the end of last week, down $1 from a week earlier, Russian agricultural consultancy IKAR said.

For corn, looming supply from an expected all-time high U.S. crop is weighing on prices.

The U.S Department of Agriculture rated 75 percent of the U.S. corn crop in good-to-excellent condition, unchanged from a week earlier. The soybean crop was rated 73 percent as good-to-excellent, up from 72 percent the previous week.

Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, wheat and soybean futures on Monday. Trader estimates of net fund selling in corn ranged from 7,000 to 15,000 contracts, in wheat from 6,000 to 7,500 contracts, and in soybeans from zero to 3,000 contracts. COMFUND/CBT

U.S. weekly crop progress highlights – USDA (RT)

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WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Highlights of the U.S. Agriculture Department’s weekly crop progress report (all numbers expressed in percent):

Week ended                    08/28/16  08/21/16  08/28/15  5-year

RICE CONDITION

  - Excellent                     13       13       18       NA
  - Good                          47       48       48       NA
  - Fair                          27       26       28       NA
  - Poor                          8        9        4        NA
  - Very Poor                     5        4        2        NA

CORN CONDITION

  - Excellent                     21       21       19       NA
  - Good                          54       54       49       NA
  - Fair                          18       18       22       NA
  - Poor                          5        5        7        NA
  - Very Poor                     2        2        3        NA

COTTON CONDITION

  - Excellent                     9        8        9        NA
  - Good                          39       39       45       NA
  - Fair                          36       35       35       NA
  - Poor                          12       14       8        NA
  - Very Poor                     4        4        3        NA

SOYBEAN CONDITION

  - Excellent                     18       18       15       NA
  - Good                          55       54       48       NA
  - Fair                          20       21       26       NA
  - Poor                          5        5        8        NA
  - Very Poor                     2        2        3        NA
    RICE HARVESTED                22       15       24       21
    SPRING WHEAT HARVESTED        81       65       84       62
    CORN DOUGH                    92       85       90       87
    CORN DENTED                   60       40       54       52
    SOYBEANS DROPPING LEAVES      5        NA       8        5
    SOYBEANS SETTING PODS         94       89       91       92
    COTTON BOLLS OPENING          23       16       20       23
    COTTON SETTING BOLLS          95       92       91       94

Soybeans ease, corn falls for 2nd day on US crop report (RT)

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  • Soybeans, corn fall as USDA rates crops in healthy condition
  • Strong soybean demand limits price decline, wheat extends losses

SINGAPORE, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Chicago soybean futures lost ground on Tuesday, while corn slid for a second session, with renewed pressure on prices after a U.S. government report showed both crops thriving in near-perfect weather.

Wheat fell, adding to Monday’s more than 2 percent decline, as abundant global supplies continue to weigh on the market.

Chicago Board of Trade most-active corn contract Cv1 fell 0.5 percent to $3.40-3/4 a bushel by 0301 GMT, having closed down by about a similar amount in the previous session.

Soybeans Sv1 dipped 0.3 percent to $10.13 a bushel and wheat Wv1 gave up 0.7 percent to $4.32-1/4 a bushel.

“Growing conditions for beans are fantastic across the U.S. Midwest,” said one agricultural commodities analyst.

“The U.S. crop has been estimated to be a record large and it is likely to get bigger as the weather outlook for next week or two looks perfect.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rated 75 percent of the U.S. corn crop in good-to-excellent condition, up from 74 percent the previous week, while soybean ratings held steady at 72 percent rated good-to-excellent. US/CROPS

Analysts had expected the USDA to report a decline in the condition of the corn crop, with soybeans seen as unchanged. At this time of last year, 69 percent of corn and 63 percent of soybeans were rated good-to-excellent.

Still, strong demand is underpinning the soybean market.

The USDA said private exporters sold 120,000 tonnes of soybeans to unknown destinations for 2016-17 delivery.

The agency also reported export inspections of U.S. soybeans in the latest week at 961,414 tonnes, above a range of trade expectations of 650,000 to 850,000 tonnes.

The European Union’s crop monitoring service significantly cut its forecast on Monday for average maize and soft wheat yields in this year’s EU harvest after adverse weather.

However, Russia is seen more than offseting the weather-related crop shortfalls in Europe.

Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn and wheat futures on Monday and net buyers in soybeans and soymeal, traders said.

Trader estimates of net fund selling in corn ranged from 3,000 to 6,000 contracts, and in wheat from 3,000 to 8,000 contracts. For soybeans, trader estimates of net fund buying ranged from 3,000 to 7,000 contracts.