Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Board of Trade corn futures closed lower after hitting their highest price since August on Friday, while soybean futures retreated from a one-month high.
Traders took profits after markets rose earlier on fears a drought in Brazil would disrupt river grain shipments and slow soybean production, analysts said. Technical buying and hopes for additional U.S. export demand also supported futures early in the session.
U.S. farmers looking to sell their crops welcomed a temporary return in corn prices above $5 a bushel as many continued to harvest their fields and bring new supplies to market (all figures in U.S. dollars).
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However, the most active corn futures ended below that key price level, with the December contract falling 9 1/2 cents to $4.95 1/2 a bushel. The market previously hit $5.09-1/2, the highest price since August 2nd.
“Corn was up overnight and tried to stay that way early in the day’s session, but fell sharply late on crop hedging and chart sales,” Charlie Sernatinger, executive vice president of Marex Capital Markets, said in a note.
Soybean futures hit $13.18-1/2, their highest price since Sept. 21, before closing 13-1/4 cents lower at $13.02-1/4. Soybean meal reached its highest price since June.
Farmer sales of soybeans have accelerated in recent days, with strength in the futures market and basis gains combining to push spot prices above $13 a bushel in many areas, an Iowa trader said. However, some producers are still waiting for even higher prices.
“We’re not selling,” said Sherman Newlin, an Illinois farmer and analyst at Risk Management Commodities. “We’re waiting for the base to improve, and that seems to be a little bit.”
In CBOT wheat, the most active futures settled up eight cents at $5.86 a bushel, after hitting their highest price in five weeks at $6.04-1/2.
Nearly half of Argentina’s 2023-24 wheat crop is in fair to poor condition due to a current lack of rainfall in key agricultural areas, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange said on Thursday.
– Reporting for Reuters by Tom Polansek in Chicago; additional reporting by Naveen Thukral and Sybille de La Hamaide.
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