GRAINS-Corn climbs on U.S. crop concerns; soy, wheat also rise
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CHICAGO — Chicago corn, soybean, and wheat futures all rose on Wednesday on technical buying and as traders adjusted positions ahead of Thursday’s Independence Day holiday.
The September corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 10-1/4 cents at $4.29-1/2 a bushel by 10:12 a.m CDT (1512 GMT), having gained 0.8% in the previous session.
The August contract for soybeans rose 7 cents to $8.86-3/4 a bushel, regaining some ground after falling by 1.1 percent on Tuesday.
September wheat future prices were also higher 5 cents at $5.08-1/4 a bushel.
“The past few days have been bearish for wheat and traders are going short with the holiday approaching,” said Brian Basting of Advance Trading.
CBOT grain markets will be closed on Thursday for Independence Day.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday pegged the condition of the corn crop at 56% good-to-excellent, unchanged from the previous week. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a slight improvement.
A year ago, 76% of the corn crop was rated good-to-excellent.
On Friday, the USDA surprised traders by estimating U.S. 2019 corn plantings at 91.7 million acres, causing prices to tumble.
Dealers said prices had recovered some ground after falling sharply during the last few days, but the mood remained bearish with harvests in the United States and Russia making good progress.
There remained, however, some corn and soybean crop concerns after historic flooding in the U.S. Midwest delayed plantings.
“Uncertainty comes with July weather,” said Basting. “Rain and cooler temps are extra reason to be concerned this year.”
Weather forecasts are generally favorable, with no real threats on the horizon, Matt Zeller of FCStone said in a note.
Dealers noted Egypt was able to buy 60,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat at a low price earlier this week and the market’s focus had now shifted to an Algerian tender which is due to close on Thursday. (Reporting by Barbara Smith Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell, David Evans and Jonathan Oatis)
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