Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures hit their lowest price in more than three months on Friday, while soybean futures rose from a two-week low as traders waited for updated U.S. crop data.
Trading was choppy and subdued before the U.S. issues its monthly world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) report on Tuesday (Sept. 12).
“It’s just simple consolidation, basically ahead of next Tuesday’s WASDE report,” said Karl Setzer, brokerage research lead for Mid-Co Commodities.
“When we have these early-week WASDE reports, you tend to see — the Thursday, Friday beforehand — the consolidation and shoring up of positions.”
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Most-active wheat futures ended down four cents at $5.95-3/4 a bushel (all figures US$). The contract earlier fell to $5.90-1/2, its lowest price since May 31.
Poor overseas demand for U.S. supplies hung over the market, analysts said. Traders also assessed ongoing efforts to preserve exports from war-torn Ukraine.
In CBOT soybeans, futures closed up 3-1/2 cents at $13.63 a bushel, after touching their lowest level since Aug. 23 at $13.52-1/2. Corn slipped 2-1/2 cents to $4.83-3/4 a bushel.
Expectations for large supplies from South America limited gains in soy futures, as traders awaited a clearer picture of upcoming U.S. harvests, analysts said.
The Buenos Aires grains exchange on Thursday forecast Argentina’s 2023-24 soybean crop at 50 million metric tonnes, more than double last year’s level, and a rebound in corn output.
“The pressure (on CBOT prices) was partly due to improved U.S. weather forecasts and optimistic crop forecasts in South America,” brokerage Copenhagen Merchants said in a note.
China has recently bought Brazilian soybeans for October and November delivery, brokers said.
Still, the U.S. government on Friday said exporters sold 121,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China for delivery in the 2023-24 marketing year. Weekly U.S. soybean export sales for 2023-24 were 1.78 million tonnes in the week ended on Aug. 31, within estimates for 1.4 million to two million tonnes.
— Reporting for Reuters by Tom Polansek in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz, Naveen Thukral and Peter Hobson.
