CANBERRA: Chicago corn futures eased on Monday as traders took a breather from a rally fuelled by technical buying and strong US exports that drove prices to a five-month high on Friday.
Algeria bought South American corn in tender, volume unclear, traders say
Soybean futures dipped, with plentiful supply keeping a lid on the market.
However, wheat climbed after Russia hiked export duty on the grain.
Fundamentals
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.1% to $4.39-1/2 a bushel by 0143 GMT, after climbing to $4.41 on Friday, the highest since June 28.
CBOT soybean slipped 0.2% to $9.92-1/4 a bushel, while wheat rose 0.2% to $5.58-1/4 a bushel.
Corn’s bullish technical move featured the actively traded March contract bouncing off its 100-day moving average on Thursday, breaking through its 50-day average to close above the prior session’s high and triggering follow-through buying.
Speculators have turned positive on corn and were net buyers again on Friday, traders said.
Larger-than-expected export sales in a weekly US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report on Thursday also supported prices.
Traders are awaiting the monthly USDA supply and demand report on Tuesday. Analysts expect the agency to trim its 2024-25 estimate for US corn ending stocks, according to a Reuters survey.
Russia, the top shipper of wheat, on Friday said it would raise its wheat export duty by almost 32%, as part of its efforts to curb exports amid high inflation and potential supply crunch due to the poor state of winter crops.
However, Argus Media predicted that Russia would harvest an amount of wheat in 2025 similar to this year despite a dry and difficult start. Ukraine’s production could increase, it added.
Source: Brecorder
