SINGAPORE- Chicago soybean futures inched lower on Monday, weighed down by estimates of a record output in top exporter Brazil despite slow harvest progress due to heavy rains in key producing regions.
Wheat edged higher after an agriculture consultancy cut its harvest forecast for top exporter Russia, while corn was largely unchanged.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.1 percent at $15.31 a bushel. Wheat gained 0.6 percent to $7.61-1/4 a bushel, while corn was largely unchanged at $6.77-1/4 a bushel.
A combination of Argentina drought and slow progress in Brazil harvest lent some support to soybean prices, but these factors could change soon, according to a note from commodities research firm Hightower.
The 7-day outlook for rain in Argentina is very dry and crops could move into a stressful situation, but the forecast for following week shows plentiful rainfall across the heart of the growing region, Hightower said.
Advance sales of Brazil’s 2022/2023 soybean crop rose slightly from last month but still trail last year’s and historical levels by a wide margin, according to data from Safras & Mercado on Friday. — Reuters
