Chicago Board of Trade corn futures hovered near a four-month low on Thursday while soybean futures set a 2-1/2-month low under pressure from large US harvests, analysts said.
The US Department of Agriculture is scheduled to issue an update on the size of the nation's corn and soybean crops in a monthly report next week.
Analysts, on average, expect the agency to peg corn production at 15.962 billion bushels, down from its October estimate of 16.034 billion, according to a Reuters poll. The harvest would still be the second-largest in history, after last year's record crop.
"We're trying to digest a bigger crop than we thought we had in the middle of the summer," said Don Roose, president of brokerage US Commodities.
CBOT corn was down 1-3/4 cents at $4.42-1/2 a bushel after the most-active contract fell on Wednesday to its lowest level since July 1. Soybean futures were down 2-3/4 cents at $11.00-1/2 a bushel and touched their lowest price since August 17.
Analysts, on average, expect the USDA next week will increase its estimate of US soybean production to 4.597 billion bushels from 4.562 billion in October, a record-large harvest.
This week, consultancy StoneX raised its estimates for the US corn and soybean harvests.
China, the world's biggest soybean importer, is open to buying more US farm goods, but only if the two sides implement their reciprocal tariff-cut agreement, the Chinese commerce ministry said.
For wheat, CBOT futures rose 4-3/4 cents to $6.03-1/4 a bushel after dropping on Wednesday to their lowest level since July 1.
Wheat prices surged this year after Russia's war in Ukraine disrupted grain exports through the Black Sea, but alternative shipping routes have helped avert supply shortages many traders had feared. Ukraine's grain transportation for exports rose by 26% month-on-month to 1.08 million metric tons in October, Ukrainian state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said.
Russia and Ukraine confirmed participation in three-way peace talks with the US in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, raising the prospect of renewed access to Black Sea shipping lanes.
Wheat prices are unlikely to move much lower without concrete developments on reopening Black Sea ports, said Commonwealth Bank analyst Dennis Voznesenski.
(Reuters)
