In Commodity News 23/06/2017
Chicago wheat futures slid for a second session on Thursday as the market took a breather after climbing to a one-year high earlier this week, with traders pausing to assess damage from unfavourable weather across the United States and Europe.
Corn fell for a fourth consecutive day to a three-week low on an outlook for favourable weather across the U.S. Midwest during the crop’s critical phase of development.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade had declined 0.4 percent to $4.62-1/2 a bushel by 0257 GMT, having closed down 1.7 percent on Wednesday.
The market climbed to its highest since June last year at $4.74-3/4 a bushel on Tuesday.
Corn gave up 0.1 percent to $3.68-1/4 a bushel, after earlier in the session marking its weakest since June 1 at $3.67-3/4 a bushel.
Soybeans were little changed at $9.19 a bushel, after closing down 1 percent on Wednesday.
“The market has already cut forecasts of high protein spring wheat from Canada and the U.S.,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
“The U.S. corn crop faces few major weather issues for now.
Producers and traders are thus more likely to sell more as they position themselves for a sizeable crop.”
The rally in wheat this month has been fuelled by deteriorating conditions for U.S. spring wheat in the northern Plains and concerns over the impact of a heat wave in France, the European Union’s top producer.
The U.S. corn crop is expected to face benign weather in July, the crop’s yield-determining phase.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has projected the U.S. 2017 corn yield at 170.7 bushels per acre.
Traders were also starting to adjust positions ahead of the USDA’s closely watched June 30 acreage and quarterly stocks reports.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT soybean, corn and wheat futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said.
Trader estimates of net fund activity in corn ranged from funds selling 15,000 contracts to buying 3,000 contracts. Estimates of net fund selling in soybeans ranged from 5,000 to 15,000 contracts.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Joseph Radford)
