U.S. agricultural futures close mixed

CHICAGO, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) — The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural futures had a mixed outcome on Tuesday, with corn and wheat prices declining and soybean prices rising.

The active December corn contract experienced a decrease of 2.75 cents, representing a 0.56 percent decline, settling at 4.855 U.S. dollars per bushel. Meanwhile, December wheat plummeted by 14.25 cents, or 2.49 percent, settling at 5.585 dollars per bushel. In contrast, November soybeans witnessed an increase of 7.25 cents, or 0.57 percent, reaching a settlement price of 12.715 dollars per bushel.

Prior to the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) October Crop report and U.S. corn and soybean yield data, corn, wheat, and soybean futures fluctuated within a wide range. The trading volume remained moderate.

Between May and September, U.S. rainfall was 2.98 inches below average, marking the 12th driest period on record and the driest since 2012. September has particularly experienced dryness for four consecutive years. AgResource, a Chicago-based research company, suggests that it is currently too early for South American weather to impact summer row crop yields, but this situation is anticipated to change in the upcoming weeks. Since July, China has been a significant purchaser of Brazilian corn.

According to Brazil’s CONAB, the estimated soybean harvest for Brazil in 2024 is projected to reach 162 million metric tons, which would be a record high and 6 million metric tons above the 2022-2023 production. On the other hand, corn production is expected to decrease by 17.5 million metric tons.

Reports indicate that Egypt’s GASC has secured 480,000 metric tons of Russian wheat for November/December shipment, with a FOB (Free On Board) price of 265 dollars per metric ton.

In the week ending October 5, the United States exported 21.7 million bushels of corn, 14.5 million bushels of wheat, and 60.4 million bushels of soybeans. This marks the highest weekly U.S. soybean exports since February 9.

For the respective crop years to date, the United States has shipped out 128 million bushels of corn, which is 18 million bushels higher than the previous year, 133.5 million bushels of soybeans, indicating a growth of 31 million bushels, and 238 million bushels of wheat, displaying a decline of 97 million bushels.

Showers are expected to commence on Tuesday and persist throughout the weekend. Rainfall will occur across the northern half of Nebraska and extend eastward into Northern Illinois and Michigan. The southern region of the United States will remain dry with temperatures gradually increasing starting in the middle of next week. The Central Plains will sustain a below-average rainfall pattern.