Friday, 11 September 2015 16:54
PARIS/SYDNEY: Chicago soybeans edged higher on Friday, keeping them on course for their first weekly gain in five, as the market anticipated the US Department of Agriculture will cut its US harvest outlook in a crop report later in the day.
Corn was almost unchanged but set to finish the week up 3 percent as expectations the USDA will also trim its corn crop forecast were reinforced by some disappointing early harvest reports.
Wheat edged lower after a rebound this week from a five-year low, with talk that Russia is considering reducing an export tax adding to bearish export sentiment at a time of swelling global supply.
Price movements were limited as grain markets were subdued in the run-up to the monthly USDA forecasts at 1600 GMT.
Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans rose 0.2 percent to $ 8.75-3/4 a bushel. The contract is poised to finish the week up 1 percent which would end a run of four straight weekly declines.
CBOT December corn was down half a cent at $ 3.73-3/4 a bushel, as it consolidated following a one-week high on Thursday. “Traders are waiting for today’s USDA report,” French consultancy Agritel said in a note.
“Many of them expect the estimates for corn production to decrease, having in mind the first results from the beginning of the harvest.”
Reports of disappointing initial yields in corn harvesting were supporting the view that the USDA should trim its crop estimate after unfavourable weather for corn and soybeans earlier in the season.
CBOT December wheat fell 0.5 percent to $ 4.75-1/2 a bushel, after recovering this week from a contract low of $ 4.63 last Friday, when thinly traded spot prices also hit a five-year low.
Ample supply from northern hemisphere harvests continued to hang over wheat markets.
A report that Russia’s farm ministry has proposed a cut in a wheat export tax raised the prospect of heavier flows from the Black Sea exporting country.
The market will get a fresh indication of US exports in weekly USDA figures due at 1230 GMT.
