Chicago | Reuters—Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) most-active corn futures Cv1 fell to the lowest levels since 2020 on Monday as expectations of a bumper corn crop and a continued stream of farmer selling weighed on futures, analysts said.
Meanwhile, Chicago soybean futures Sv1eked out a slight gain as traders monitored a heat wave in the U.S. Midwest and tensions in the Middle East. Wheat futures fell on ample world supplies and fund selling.
Chicago Board of Trade most-active corn CV1ended down 4-1/2 cents at $3.86-1/2 per bushel after hitting the lowest since October 2020 on a continuous chart.
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Soybeans Sv1settled up 7-3/4 cents at $9.80-3/4 per bushel and wheat Wv1settled down 3 cents to $5.25 a bushel.
A flurry of farmer selling has continued this week, adding downward momentum to corn futures.
“Most elevators and co-ops require old corn to be priced out soon,” said Jason Ward, analyst at Northstar Commodity. “It’s a big week where we’re flushing out old crop corn that has been in producers’ hands.”
A closely followed crop tour run by advisory service ProFarmer projected record crop yields in major producing states Illinois and Iowa, reinforcing a global oversupply picture.
ProFarmer also reported that the U.S. soybean harvest will be even bigger than the government’s record forecast.
However, a heat wave and lack of rainfall in swathes of the U.S. Midwest may damage the soybean crop during its key development stage and has left industry players uncertain about whether the projected record yields will be realized, analysts said.
A pre-emptive Israeli strike against Hezbollah rocket launchers stoked concerns over growing tension in the region and supported soy oil futures, traders said.
Escalating conflicts in the Middle East often lead to higher prices for crude oil as well as soy oil, which is used as a source of biodiesel.
Meanwhile, wheat futures fell to multiple contract lows as cheap Black Sea supplies continued to weigh.
—Additional reporting for Reuters by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Michael Hogan in Hamburg.
