SINGAPORE – Chicago wheat futures slid on Monday, with prices trading close to last week’s lowest in almost two years, as rain in the US Plains and easing concerns over Ukrainian supplies weighed on the market.
Corn and soybeans lost ground.
“While there will need to be more rain in the central and southern Plains…, a wave of precipitation certainly leaves a bearish element in the market,” commodities research firm Hightower said in a report.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) lost 0.7 percent to $6.29-1/2 a bushel and corn gave up 0.4 percent to $5.82-1/2 a bushel. Soybeans fell 0.2 percent at $14.16-1/4 a bushel.
Recent rain in the drought-hit US Plains and forecasts for more have eased concerns about hard red winter wheat production.
In a sign more Ukrainian grain may hit the market, the European Commission said on Friday it had reached a deal in principle to allow the transit of Ukrainian grain to resume through five European Union countries that had imposed restrictions.
The corn market is facing headwinds as a large Brazilian crop is easting into demand for US supplies.
A bumper Brazilian soybean crop is also expected to flow onto export markets, offsetting a drought-hit harvest in Argentina. – Reuters
