Chicago soybean and corn futures were flat on Wednesday, hovering near three-year lows ahead of a key USDA report as South American harvest pressure continues to drag the market…
Wheat slipped after ending lower in the previous session.
Traders are awaiting the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) monthly supply-and-demand report on Friday to assess the latest estimates on corn and soy production in South America.
“Limited changes are expected for the U.S balance sheets with a focus on updates to South American production,” Bergman Grains Research said in a note.
Analysts, on average, expect the USDA to lower its estimate for Brazil’s soybean harvest to 152.28 million metric tons and Argentina’s harvest to 50.23 million metric tons, a Reuters poll showed.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 held its ground at $11.50-1/4 a bushel by 0430 GMT.
CBOT corn Cv1 was flat at $4.26-3/4 a bushel.
Wheat Wv1 fell 0.45% to $5.48-1/2 a bushel.
Chinese importers are believed to have purchased at least 65,000 metric tons of animal feed corn from Ukraine in deals on Monday, European traders said on Tuesday.
It appears prices have dropped enough where China has engaged as a buyer, Bergman Grains wrote. Rainfall in Argentina is set to become less frequent as the El Nino weather phenomenon subsides, giving way to a drier autumn and the possibility of a La Nina climate pattern, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Tuesday.
The El Nino weather pattern has begun to weaken, but will continue to fuel above-average temperatures across the globe, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday. Indonesia is likely to import larger volumes of wheat in 2024, compared with 10.87 million metric tons shipped last year, driven by higher demand for flour and animal feed, a senior industry official said on Tuesday.