Wheat futures extend losses - CBOT
Soybeans inch up, corn falls
5 December 2022
2 minute read
By: Chicago wheat futures extended losses on Friday, with the market set for a fourth weekly decline, pressured by ample Black Sea supplies that are giving stiff competition to US exporters, reported Reuters.
Soybeans inched up after last session's deep losses, while corn fell.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) slid 0.9% to $7.75-3/4 a bushel, as of 0152 GMT, soybeans added 0.2% to $14.33-1/4 a bushel and corn gave up 0.1% to $6.59-3/4 a bushel.
By week's end, wheat was down almost 3%, corn dropped nearly 2% and soybeans changed little.
Record wheat production in Russia, the world's biggest exporter, and ample supplies elsewhere from the Black Sea region are adding pressure on US futures.
The US Agriculture Department (USDA) said export sales of wheat totalled 162,500 tonnes in the week ended November 24, well below the low end of analysts' forecasts that ranged from 300,000 to 725,000 tonnes.
The USDA reported weekly corn export sales of 632,700. The market had expected 475,000 to 1.1 million tonnes.
The soybean market dropped on Thursday after the US government proposed smaller-than-expected biofuels blending requirements.
The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed smaller increases than traders expected in the amount of ethanol and other biofuels that oil refiners must blend into their fuel over the next three years.
Production of renewable diesel, which can be made from soyoil, is growing, "but not at the unrealistic pace expected by fund managers," StoneX chief commodities economist Arlan Suderman said.
Soybeans and wider commodity markets had been underpinned in recent sessions by signs China was softening its tone on COVID-19 rules after rare public protests in the world's second-largest economy.
Argentina's wheat production outlook is likely to face more cuts due to lower-than-expected yields, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday, as the harvest of the grains advances in the midst of a prolonged drought.
Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soymeal futures contracts on Thursday and net sellers of soybean, soyoil, corn and wheat futures, traders said.
In market news, Asian shares were flat and treasuries held onto gains on Friday ahead of the US non-farm payrolls data, the next big test for investors looking for more signs of a shift from the Federal Reserve, while the dollar nursed heavy losses.
