Tuesday, 24 March 2015 17:55
PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat futures fell on Tuesday as signs of some rain relief for dry growing belts in the United States and Russia curbed a weather rally that took prices to five-week highs.
Corn was little changed, with farmer selling capping prices after sharp rally in the last two sessions but the risk of rain delays to U.S. spring planting helped underpin the market.
Soybeans edged lower.
Chicago Board of Trade May wheat fell 1.6 percent to $ 5.25-1/2 a bushel by 1204 GMT, as it pulled back from Monday’s peak of $ 5.40-1/2, a contract high since Feb. 17.
Some weather reports forecast an improvement in the rain outlook for U.S. wheat towards the end of next week, while crop ratings were better in some affected zones last week.
Oklahoma winter wheat was notably rated 44 percent good to excellent, up from 40 percent in the previous week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
But analysts said moisture was still lacking for wheat in part of the U.S. Plains.
“Weather forecasters still expect no material rainfall in U.S. hard red winter wheat regions for the next week or so,” Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note to clients.
“There is no relief in sight for worries about U.S. wheat.”
In Russia, where some observers say weather stress may leave the grain harvest short of official forecasts, wheat could get some relief next week, the Commodity Weather Group said.
“The rains expand across Europe/Ukraine over the next week to provide timely moisture for early wheat growth, and prospects improve for much of Russia next week,” it said.
CBOT May Corn was unchanged at $ 3.90-1/4 a bushel while May soybeans lost 0.3 percent to $ 9.80-1/4 a bushel.
Farmer selling of corn after a futures rally fuelled by a falling dollar curbed prices, but forecasts for rain that could hamper planting in the U.S. Midwest kept the market underpinned.
“Operators’ attention is turning to weather conditions for the 2015 harvest, which will be a source of price volatility in the next few days in the run-up to the USDA’s March 31 report,” French consultancy Agritel said in note.
The USDA will issue next Tuesday closely watched U.S. planting estimates.
Copyright Reuters, 2015
