• Chicago wheat edges higher after Tuesday’s over 3 pct fall
• Dryness trims North Dakota spring wheat yield prospects
• Soybeans up for 2nd day as market recovers from 3-month low

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By Naveen Thukral

SINGAPORE, July 27 (Reuters) – Chicago wheat rose on Wednesday as the market recovered from a more than three percent fall in the previous session, supported by a widely watched crop tour that found lower U.S. spring wheat yield prospects.

Corn edged higher after closing about half a percent lower while soybeans rose for a second session on bargain buying following a decline to three-month low on Tuesday.

The Chicago Board Of Trade’s most-active wheat contract Wv1 rose 0.4 percent to $4.16-3/4 a bushel, having closed down 3.3 percent on Tuesday on pressure from ample global supplies.

Corn Cv1 gained 0.4 percent to $3.40-3/4 a bushel and soybeans Sv1 added 0.8 percent to $9.81-1/2 a bushel.

Yield prospects for hard red spring wheat in southeast North Dakota were below average following a dry spell earlier this year, scouts on an annual crop tour said on Tuesday.

The wheat crop in the southeastern corner of the state was developing one to two weeks ahead of normal, aided by early planting as well as dry weather in May and June that may have advanced the crop’s maturity.

Reduced estimates for the harvest in the top exporting region of the European Union had pushed Chicago wheat to a 10-day high on Monday, but ample global supplies are keeping a lid on prices.

“There are some periodic concerns about yields and adverse weather but overall global supplies are looking really good,” said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank.

“You need to see a big decline in yields or significant period of adverse weather for prices to rally. There are some bargains to be had but beyond that it is all about fundamentals.”

For soybeans, extended weather forecasts reaching into August – the most crucial month for establishing U.S. yields – showed sufficient precipitation that could help offset the potential for stress caused by high temperatures.

Midday weather models on Tuesday showed a stronger ridge of high pressure in the central United States growing belt that could lead to increased dryness, according to an agriculture meteorologist at Lanworth, a division of Thomson Reuters.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture after the close of trading on Monday left good-to-excellent condition ratings unchanged for the U.S. soybean and corn crops, when analysts were predicting slightly lower ratings due to heat. US/COR, US/SOY

Historically high U.S. crop ratings increased the likelihood for higher-than-normal yields at harvest.

• Corn gains more ground on forecasts of hot, dry U.S. weather
• Soybeans up 5 percent in three days of gains, wheat firms

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By Naveen Thukral

SINGAPORE, July 14 (Reuters) – Chicago corn futures rose 0.8 percent on Thursday, while soybeans hovered near their highest in more than a week, with forecasts of hot and dry weather across U.S. Midwest raising concerns about global supplies.

Wheat was up for a third day, although gains were capped by the outlook for ample global supplies.

The Chicago Board of Trade most-active corn contract Cv1 had climbed 0.8 percent to $3.72-3/4 a bushel by 0224 GMT, having gained 2.6 percent on Wednesday when prices hit $3.75-1/2 a bushel, their highest since June 30.

Soybeans Sv1 rose 0.5 percent to $11.10-1/2 a bushel, having climbed in the last session to $11.19-1/2 a bushel, the strongest since July 5.

Weather forecasts showed rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall in the U.S. Midwest during early August, a critical time for soybean development.

“Concerns about dry weather due to La Nina weather has given upside response to prices,” said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist, National Australia Bank.

“The real story is that a lot of corn has gone in the ground and production doesn’t look terrible.”

U.S. corn supplies will tighten more than expected in the coming months due to rising exports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its monthly supply and demand report on Tuesday.

The most active wheat futures Wv1 rose 0.6 percent to $4.42-1/4 a bushel, having closed up 0.3 percent on Wednesday.

Wheat’s gains lagged corn and soybeans due to plentiful global supplies and expectations that the big U.S. harvest will add to the glut.

Still, heavy rain and strong winds are likely to curb the potential for Western Canada’s crops, government officials said, but the harvest may still be bigger than average.

Pockets across Saskatchewan, Canada’s biggest wheat- and canola-growing province, received as much as 5 inches (127 millimetres) of rain, strong winds and hail since Sunday.

Strong demand is boosting French wheat exports. Farm office FranceAgriMer on Wednesday raised its estimate for French soft wheat exports in 2015/16 to a near-record, leading it to trim again expected stocks in the European Union’s biggest wheat producer.

Commodity funds were net buyers of Chicago Board of Trade soybean, corn and wheat futures contracts on Wednesday.

Traders’ estimates of net fund buying in corn ranged from 13,000 to 16,000 contracts. Funds were seen as net even to buyers of 2,000 wheat contracts. They bought an estimated 7,000 soybean contracts.

• Soybeans down almost 10 pct this wk, biggest since June 2014
• Funds sell soybean contracts as ideal U.S. weather aids crop

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By Naveen Thukral

SINGAPORE, July 8 (Reuters) – Chicago soybean futures were on Friday set for their biggest weekly decline since June 2014 as near-perfect U.S. weather boosted the prospects of a bumper crop.

Corn is poised for a third week of decline as the U.S. crop thrives in friendly weather in its crucial pollination phase, while wheat is on track to suffer its fifth week of losses.

Chicago soybean futures Sv1 have lost nearly 10 percent this week, their biggest weekly fall since June 2014 as rains aid the U.S. crop and fears of dry La Nina weather pattern ease.

“There is long liquidation in soybeans,” said Kaname Gokon at brokerage Okato Shoji in Tokyo.

“There have been heavy rains in the U.S. Midwest which are good for the crop.”

Expectations by weather forecasters that the onset of a La Nina, which could trigger a dry summer in the U.S. Midwest, had been pushed back to September suggest soybeans will not get hit during their key development stage in August, CBA analysts said.

Corn Cv1 has lost 4.5 percent this week, falling for a third consecutive week, while wheat Wv1 is down more than 1 percent in its fifth week of losses.

Corn has given up close to 20 percent in three weeks and wheat has shed more than 14 percent in five weeks.

The U.S. corn crop is getting a boost from rains and ideal weather in its pollination phase.

Still, the decline in corn futures is being limited by Brazil’s Conab lowering its outlook for the country’s corn production to 69.14 million tonnes from 76.22 million, largely due to problems with the second crop.

Commodity funds were net sellers of Chicago Board of Trade soybean and wheat futures contracts on Thursday. Traders’ estimates of fund sales in soybeans ranged from 14,000 to 20,000 contracts.

Estimates for wheat ranged from net even to sales of 2,500 contracts. Traders estimated that funds were net even in corn. COMFUND/CBT

Meanwhile, exports of French soft wheat, which competes with U.S. wheat, to buyers outside the European Union rose in May to 1.6 million tonnes, the highest monthly volume since the 2015/16 season began in July last year.

Exports since the beginning of the 2015/16 season now total 11.4 million tonnes, up 12 percent from the July-May period in 2014/15.

• Corn hit contract low overnight, soy dropped to 6-week trough
• Expectations of favourable weather will remain a drag on futures

By Manolo Serapio Jr

MANILA, July 7 (Reuters) – U.S. corn and soybean futures rebounded on Thursday following a selloff in the prior session pinned on favourable weather that boosted hopes for a bountiful harvest in the fall.

The gains are likely to be fleeting though, analysts say.

“The U.S. near-term weather narrative remains decidedly bearish,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia analysts said in a note, citing forecasts of more rain in the U.S. Midwest.

“Forecasters have flagged that the southwestern Corn Belt will likely turn drier again after this week, but on balance U.S. crops are in very good shape,” they said.

Corn for December delivery on the Chicago Board of Trade CZ6 gained 0.7 percent to $3.50-3/4 a bushel by 0214 GMT, after touching a contract low of $3.46 overnight.

CBOT soybeans SX6 gained 0.3 percent to $10.76-3/4 a bushel, having dropped to $10.40-1/2 on Wednesday, its weakest since May 25.

Expectations by weather forecasters that the onset of the La Nina weather pattern, which could trigger a dry summer in the U.S. Midwest, had been pushed back to September suggests that soybeans won’t get hit during their key development stage in August, CBA analysts said.

“The less threatening outlook will continue to weigh on the market,” they added.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s weekly conditions report on Tuesday showed strong ratings for corn, soybeans and wheat.

Chicago wheat WU6 rose 0.5 percent to $4.30-1/2 a bushel.

Black Sea wheat exporters Russia and Ukraine have started harvesting and are seeing higher yields and the same quality as a year ago, analysts and traders said.

By Mark Weinraub

CHICAGO, July 1 (Reuters) – U.S. wheat futures sank to multi-year lows on Friday, pressured by an ample global stockpile that was expected to grow even larger due to a bountiful harvest, traders said.

Corn and soybean futures also weakened, with soybeans settling back from a rally on Thursday that pushed prices to a two-week high.

The U.S. Agriculture Department’s acreage report from Thursday, which showed a surprise bump in corn and spring wheat acreage, continued to cast a shadow over the grains market.

“The market is back to trading fundamentals,” said Greg Grow, director of agribusiness at Archer Financial Services. “The acreage increase in corn was unexpected, the acreage increase in spring wheat was unexpected. The world is well supplied in feed grains right now.”

The front-month Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract Wc1shed 3.5 percent to a nine-year low while K.C. hard red winter KWc1 wheat touched a fresh 10-year low.

Forecasts for benign weather across much of the U.S. Midwest during the next few weeks – a key time for corn development – also weighed on prices.

“Highs warm into the mid to upper 90s (degrees Fahrenheit) for the far southern/western Midwest next Wednesday to Friday, but the rain ahead of this event will recharge soil moisture and lessen stress to pollinating corn,” Commodity Weather Group said in a note to clients.

Private analytics firm Informa Economics forecast U.S. corn production at 14.531 billion bushels and soybean production at 3.89 billion bushels. Both estimates were above the current U.S. Agriculture Department outlook. 

CBOT soft red winter wheat for September delivery WU6 settled down 15-1/4 cents at $4.30-1/4 a bushel, K.C. September hard red winter wheat KWU6 was 11 cents lower at $4.11-1/2 a bushel and MGEX September spring wheat 1MWEU6 was down 9 cents at $4.99-1/4 a bushel.

CBOT December corn CZ6 was off 4-1/4 cents at $3.67 a bushel. CBOT November soybeans SX6were down 15-3/4 cents at $11.37-1/2 a bushel.

For the week, CBOT soft red winter wheat was down 7.7 percent, its biggest weekly decline in two years. K.C. wheat was off 6.7 percent, its fourth straight weekly loss.

CBOT corn fell 4.5 percent this week and soybeans were up 5.5 percent, their biggest weekly gain since October 2014.