Chicago futures subdued ahead of USDA grain report
Supply concerns ease
20 January 2023
2 minute read
By: Chicago soybean and wheat futures were little changed in early Asian trading on Friday as market participants awaited the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report due later in the day, reported Reuters.
Both soybeans and wheat were, however, on track for weekly losses, while corn slipped for a third straight session after forecasts for beneficial rains in drought-hit Argentina.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was nearly flat at $15.15 a bushel, as of 0138 GMT, while wheat Wv1 was steady at $7.34-1/2 a bushel.
Corn shed 0.2% to $6.76 a bushel.
Farm Futures survey of US planting intentions indicated that producers plan to expand all-wheat seedings for 2023 harvest by nearly 7% compared to a year ago, with smaller increases expected for corn and soybean acreage.
Traders await the USDA's export sales report due at 7:30 a.m. CST (1330 GMT) on Friday.
Renewed recession fears also weighed on market sentiment this week, with latest U.S. data showing the world's biggest economy slowing down following the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT wheat, soybean, corn, soymeal and soyoil futures contracts on Thursday, traders said.
MARKET NEWS
World stocks fell on Thursday and US benchmark 10-year Treasury yields bounced up off of four-month lows, as worries mounted that an aggressive stance by central banks could push the global economy into a slowdown.
* The dollar =USD slid on Thursday in choppy trading, as a slew of data continued to show that the US economy was slowing down in the wake of multiple hefty interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, with the market anticipating a pause in tightening this year.
