Wheat ends higher on bargain buying; corn firm, soy mixed
Run of importer demand helps counter harvest pressure in wheat
Corn, soybeans edge away from 2020 lows as weather watched
Soybeans end mixed as firm cash markets lift nearby futures
Updates with closing U.S. prices
By Julie Ingwersen
CHICAGO, July 17 (Reuters) -U.S. wheat futures rose 1.6% on Wednesday on bargain buying one day after a drop in prices to four-month lows appeared to spur fresh export business, traders said.
Corn futures ended firm while soybeans were mixed, but both markets hovered near their lowest levels in nearly four years.
Benchmark wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade Wv1 settled up 8-1/2 cents at $5.39-1/4 per bushel, a day after falling to $5.25-1/4, the lowest on a continuous chart of the most-active contract since March 11.
CBOT corn Cv1 ended up 3 cents at $4.11-3/4 a bushel. For soybeans, the nearby August contract SQ24 rose 6-3/4 cents to finish at $10.97-1/4 a bushel while most-active November Sv1 fell 2-1/4 cents at $10.41.
Wheat's rebound reflected a flurry of global export deals. Algeria's state grains agency bought about 600,000 metric tons of milling wheat in an international tender, European traders said. And Egypt's state buyer booked 770,000 metric tons of mostly Russian wheat on Tuesday, its biggest single purchase since 2022.
Asian wheat buyers, meanwhile, have stepped up purchases in recent weeks, taking cargoes from the Black Sea region.
"End users see some value at these price levels," StoneX chief commodities economist Arlan Suderman said in a client note.
A decline in the dollar .DXY lent support to CBOT futures, in theory making U.S. grains more competitive globally. The dollar eased as top Federal Reserve officials indicated they were getting closer to cutting interest rates.
CBOT corn inched higher but generally favorable crop weather in the Midwest hung over the market, capping rallies by bolstering expectations for large U.S. harvests. The corn crop is in the midst of pollination, its key reproductive phase.
"The month of July as a whole is expected to end up wetter than normal across most of the Corn Belt ... which will be quite favorable for development of corn and soybeans," satellite technology company Maxar said in a note.
Midwest farmers are still assessing crop damage from severe storms and strong winds that raked the region on Monday, Maxar noted.
While the weather outlook pressured new-crop November SX24 soybean futures, the nearby August SQ24 contract rose for a second session on firm cash markets. U.S. farmers have been reluctant sellers of what remains of their 2023 harvest, supporting cash bids for soybeans at a time when improved crush margins have spurred demand from soy processors, traders said.
Reporting by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago
Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore
Editing by Matthew Lewis and Sandra Maler
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
