IKAR in Mass and Industry Media

Grains-corn extends slide as u.s. midwest rains ease yield concerns

Reuters

* Improved weather outweighs USDA cut to harvest forecasts
* Corn, soy again touch near 2-week lows
* Wheat eases after 2-1/2 month high on U.S., global supply cuts

PARIS/SYDNEY, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures extended losses on Monday to hit another near two-week low as improved rain prospects for the Midwest eased concerns about crops being stressed during key summer growth stages.

Soybeans also slipped further as rainfall was similarly expected to benefit field conditions for the oilseed.

Wheat edged lower, consolidating below a 2-1/2 month low struck on Friday when a lower than anticipated government estimate of U.S. wheat production added to uncertainty about harvest risks in major exporting countries.

Weather maps showed rain fell over a swathe of the Midwest at the weekend while forecasting projected precipitation for the second half of July, including heavier showers next week.

"Rain relief suddenly appeared," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The most active corn futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were down 2.4% at $3.36-1/2 a bushel by 1159 GMT. They earlier fell to $3.34-3/4, the lowest since June 30. Corn fell 3.4% in the previous session.

The market shrugged off the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) reduced forecast on Friday for this year's U.S. corn harvest, seen as priced in after the agency lowered its corn-planting estimate at the end of June.

CBOT soybean futures were down 1.0% at $8.81-3/4 a bushel, near the session low of $8.81 - the lowest since July 1. Soybeans fell 1.2% on Friday.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing were also curbing corn and soybean prices. That tempered the reaction to recent demand from China, including its second-largest single-day U.S. corn purchase on record, as reported by the USDA on Friday.

CBOT wheat was down 0.7% at $5.30-1/2 a bushel, easing back from Friday's peak of $5.39. Traders were continuing to monitor northern hemisphere harvests amid mixed results so far.

Agriculture consultancy IKAR said on Monday it had downgraded its forecast for Russia's wheat crop to 76.5 million tonnes from 78 million.

Prices at 1159 GMT Last Change Pct End Ytd Pct Move 2019 Move CBOT wheat 530.50 -3.50 -0.66 558.75 -5.06 CBOT corn 336.50 -8.25 -2.39 387.75 -13.22 CBOT soy 881.75 -9.00 -1.01 955.50 -7.72 Paris wheat December 187.25 -0.75 -0.40 188.75 -0.79 Paris maize Aug 177.50 0.75 0.42 180.00 -1.39 Paris rape Aug 382.25 -1.00 -0.26 411.50 -7.11 WTI crude oil 40.10 -0.45 -1.11 61.06 -34.33 Euro/dlr 1.13 0.00 0.30 1.1210 1.09 Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per tonne

14.07.20

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