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Chicago agricultural commodities fall

Xinhua, October 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Chicago Board of Trade grains futures fell on Friday, as forecasts for dry weather in the Midwest will allow farmers to pick up the pace of what is expected to be a record harvest of both crops.

Wheat futures eased as investors squared positions ahead of a key government report next week.

The declines in corn and soybeans were kept in check as investors have digested expectations of a record U.S. harvest this fall. Both commodities notched small weekly gains.

The most active corn contract for December delivery fell 0.75 cents, or 0.22 percent, to 3.3975 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery dropped 1 cents, or 0.25 percent, to 3.9475 dollars per bushel. November soybeans dipped 1.75 cents, or 0.18 percent, to 9.5675 dollars per bushel.

Strong export demand also lent support to prices despite the bearish harvest outlook.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report released last week showed shippers sold 2.06 million metric tons of corn to overseas buyers for delivery in the marketing year that started on Sept. 1.

Soybean sales totaled 2.18 million tons for delivery this marketing year. Wheat sales lagged, totaling 377,000 tons, down 34 percent from the prior week and 31 percent from the previous four-week average, the USDA said.

Analysts were expecting next week's USDA report to show that U.S. farmers would probably harvest 15.060 billion bushels of corn this year, based on an average yield of 173.5 bushels per acre.

"Corn Belt rains over the past 24 hours have likely complicated things for an already-wet harvest in most areas, but the good news on that front is that additional rains are few and far between," Matt Zeller, director of market information at INTL FCStone, said.

"The rest of the harvest campaign looks like it should move full steam ahead," Zeller said in a note to clients. Endit