2023-10-09 20:09:47
Corn and soybean futures in Chicago fell Monday on an acceleration in the pace of the harvest in the U.S. Midwest, reversing overnight gains triggered by concerns over the Middle East conflict.
The most actively traded corn futures contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) settled down regarding 0.8% at $4.88-1/4 a bushel, following climbing as high as at $4.97 overnight. Soybeans rose to $12.77-1/2 overnight before settling at $12.64-1/4, a loss of regarding 0.1%.
The bloodiest fighting in years between Israelis and Palestinians that broke out over the weekend sent crude oil prices soaring more than $3, a rise that briefly boosted agricultural commodities.
“I think the focus has also started to shift to what lies ahead here in the United States,” said Jerry Gidel, a grain analyst at Midland Research.
Due to a federal holiday on Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) weekly corn and soybean harvest report was delayed until Tuesday.
On Thursday, the USDA will release a monthly grain supply and demand report. Analysts expect the USDA to lower its U.S. corn and soybean crop estimates, and traders are rebalancing their positions ahead of the data release.
Soybean prices remain near three-month lows and corn is hovering around its lowest levels since January 2021. Both are being held back by weak export demand, exacerbated by a strong dollar. Despite insufficient soybean supplies in the United States, the steady supply of Brazilian soybeans has driven prices down.
“It becomes difficult to build a bullish case when demand weakens,” said Brad Fuller, agricultural risk manager at Western Horizons in Barnsdall, Oklahoma.
Benchmark wheat CBOT settled up 0.8% at $5.72-3/4 a bushel. December wheat traded as high as $5.81-1/2 overnight, briefly rising above the contract’s 20-day moving average, before falling once more following violence between the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel. (Reporting by Zachary Goelman in New York; Additional reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Peter Hobson in Canberra; Editing by Paul Simao)
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