Corn prices ease on ample global supplies; wheat, soybeans down

Chicago corn lost ground on Thursday, trading around a near three-year low hit earlier this week, as the advancing U.S. harvest is adding to ample supplies from rival exporter Brazil.

Wheat fell as plentiful supplies from the Black Sea region outweighed signs of renewed demand from large importers.

“We have made a further downward revision to our forecast for the average price of CBOT-listed second-month corn futures in 2023, following our earlier downward revision of June 15,” BMI Research, a unit of Fitch Group, said in a note.

“It is now our view that prices will average $5.55 per bushel through the twelve-month period, which points to an average price level close to $5.00 per bushel through the remainder of 2023.”

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) slipped 0.4% to $4.80-1/2 a bushel, as of 0321 GMT, after hitting its lowest since December 2020 on Tuesday at $4.67-3/4 a bushel.

Wheat lost 0.6% to $5.85-1/4 a bushel and soybeans gave up 0.7% to $13.10-1/4 a bushel.

Corn prices are likely to face pressure amid rising world supplies. Brazil produced a bumper crop earlier this year and the U.S. harvest is gathering pace.

However, Brazil’s food supply and statistics agency Conab late on Tuesday predicted a 9.1% drop in Brazil’s total corn crop in the 2023/2024 cycle.

On the technical front, CBOT December corn may climb into a range of $4.84-3/4 to $4.87 per bushel, as it has risen above a falling channel, according to Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for technicals.

Several wheat purchases were reported on Wednesday.

Analysts estimate that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday will report U.S. wheat export sales for the week ended Sept. 14 at 250,000 to 600,000 tons.

On the supply side, cheap Russian wheat is still flowing into the market, with traders noting numerous offers at $270 a ton FOB.

Chicago wheat futures fell to a 33-month low of $5.70 a bushel last week due to a supply glut.

In the soybean market, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed sales of 120,000 tonnes of U.S. beans to unknown buyers for delivery in 2023/24.

However, competition from Brazil has dented demand for U.S. soy. Chinese data showed that soybean imports from Brazil rose 45% year-on-year in August.

Analysts estimate that the USDA will report U.S. soybean sales in the week ended Sept. 14 at 550,000 to 1,200,000 tons and corn sales in the week ended Sept. 14 at 550,000 to 1,100,000 tons.

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

Tags: soybean, Black Sea region, wheat, U.S., demand, corn, Brazil, prices