U.S. agricultural futures fall

On Tuesday, the agricultural futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) dropped, particularly with wheat leading the decline.

The most active corn contract for March delivery decreased by 7.5 cents, or 1.59 percent, settling at 4.6375 U.S. dollars per bushel. March wheat also took a hit, plunging 21.25 cents, or 3.38 percent, to settle at 6.0675 dollars per bushel. Additionally, March soybean saw a decrease of 24.5 cents, or 1.89 percent, settling at 12.735 dollars per bushel.

The drop in CBOT agricultural futures is attributed to the recent and upcoming soaking rainfall across the driest areas of Brazil. This, combined with thin volume, has exacerbated the flat price movement. The Chicago-based research company AgResource forecasts a recovery for Wednesday and advises against selling cash grain on the current day.

U.S. export inspections in the week ending Dec. 28 revealed 22 million bushels of corn, compared to 48 million bushels in the previous week; 10 million bushels of wheat, compared to 17 million bushels in the previous week; and 35 million bushels of soybeans, compared to 41 million in the prior week. All of these figures fell within trade expectations.

The United States has inspected 470 million bushels of corn, marking a 24 percent increase year on year; 855 million bushels of soybeans, a 19 percent decrease; and 354 million bushels of wheat, also a 19 percent decrease from late December 2022.

The forecast for the 11-15 day period in Northern Brazil indicates wetter conditions, with a pattern of near daily showers extending until Jan. 17. Meanwhile, Argentina is anticipated to experience near normal rain. The weather in Argentina becomes critical to both corn and soybean yield potential between mid-January and late February.