SINGAPORE, June 17: Chicago corn slid to its lowest in more than three weeks on Monday, while soybeans fell for a fourth consecutive session to a two-week low under pressure from forecasts of crop friendly weather across the U.S. Grain belt.
Wheat lost more ground, sliding to its lowest since early April as U.S. Winter wheat harvest progressed in the southern Plains, boosting supplies amid weak demand.
Growing conditions have turned ideal in the U.S. Midwest after record rains early this spring led to the slowest corn and soybean plantings in 17 years.
The extended forecast shows occasional showers and warm temperatures, which should speed crop growth, agricultural meteorologists said.
‘The increasing likelihood that the forecast record increase in global grain production will come to fruition remains the main factor driving new-crop prices lower,’ said Luke Matthews, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Chicago Board of Trade new-crop December corn was down 1 percent to $5.27-3/4 a bushel by 0116 GMT after touching its lowest since May 23 and November soy fell 1.3 percent to $12.81-1/2 a bushel.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in its monthly demand-and-supply report on Wednesday estimated the corn crop at 14.005 billion bushels, a billion bushels larger than the record set in 2009.
Bumper crops would be a dramatic rebound from three years in a row of falling corn and soybean production which tightened stocks and saw sky-high prices. Corn stocks are headed to reach the lowest level in 17 years in 2012/13, with supplies set to be razor-thin until harvesting starts in the autumn.
Large speculators raised their bullish bet on U.S. Soybean futures to the biggest in more than seven months as slow plantings threatened to reduce the size of this year’s harvest, regulatory data released on Friday showed.
July wheat lost 0.8 percent to $6.75-1/4 a bushel, its lowest since early April.
The harvest of winter wheat in the United States, the world’s biggest exporter, is under way and early reports from drought-hit Texas and Oklahoma are not as bad as feared, agronomists and others said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its estimate of the 2013 U.S. Winter wheat harvest last week to 1.509 billion bushels, from 1.486 billion in May.
(agencies)
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