Wheat extends gains on output concerns; corn, soybeans ease

MUMBAI: US wheat futures extended gains on Tuesday, supported by a slower pace of spring wheat planting and amid fears over yield for the winter crop in the United States, while corn fell after output concerns in key producer Brazil eased with minor frost.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.21% at $11.92-1/2 a bushel, as of 0348 GMT.

As wheat supplies from Black Sea region have been curtailed, buyers are looking for other producers, which are also hit by bad weather, said a New Delhi-based dealer with a global trading firm.

“It’s pretty clear that the US wheat crop won’t be unscratched. Weather will dent yields there like other countries,” he said.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said spring wheat seeding was 49% complete, as on Sunday, below the lowest in a range of trade estimates and well behind the five-year average of 83%.

For winter wheat, the USDA rated 28% of the crop in good-to-excellent condition, up 1 percentage point from the previous week.

The European Union’s crop monitoring service MARS on Monday lowered its forecast of the EU’s average soft wheat yield this year to 5.89 tonnes per hectare (t/ha) from 5.95 t/ha projected last month, now 2.5% below the 2021 level.

Corn eased 0.45% to $7.82-3/4 a bushel and soybeans edged 0.28% lower to $16.82-1/4 a bushel.

US wheat rises, corn higher; soya weak

The USDA said farmers had planted 72% of their intended corn acres, ahead of the average estimate of 68% in a Reuters analyst poll.

Soybean planting was 50% complete by Sunday, the USDA said, up from 30% a week earlier. The figure was ahead of the average analyst estimate of 49%, but behind the five-year average of 55%.

Rising palm oil prices are boosting demand for soyoil and effectively supporting beans as well, the dealer said.

Source: Brecorder