SINGAPORE- Chicago soybean futures lost more ground on Tuesday to hit their lowest in a week, while corn slid for a third straight session as rapidly advancing US harvests weighed on prices.
Wheat prices eased after closing marginally higher on Monday.
“The soybean market is coming under seasonal harvest pressure in the United States,” said one Singapore-based trader. “Chinese demand is a bit subdued which is also putting pressure on prices.”
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.2 percent at $12.84-1/2 a bushel, after dropping earlier in the session to $12.82-1/4 a bushel, the lowest since Oct. 16.
Corn fell 0.3 percent to $4.88-3/4 a bushel and wheat gave up 0.6 percent to $5.83-1/2 a bushel.
US farmers had harvested three-quarters of their soybean crop and 59 percent of their corn by Sunday, according to weekly data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released on Monday.
The figures, roughly in line with trade expectations, were ahead of the five-year average pace for each crop.
In Brazil, if expected rains come this week, it will improve prospects for soy farmers who have been sowing their new crop at a slower pace in unusually hot and dry weather, experts said. -Reuters