Global wheat prices mixed on Monday, soybeans move higher

Global grain and oilseed markets showed mixed trends on August 10, with US wheat futures moving in different directions, corn edging lower and soybeans strengthening. September Chicago SRW wheat futures rose 0.12% to $235.34/t, while Kansas City HRW wheat declined to $262.16/t and Minneapolis spring wheat fell to $246.18/t. In Paris, September MATIF wheat lost 2.07% to €217.75/t.

Progress in the US harvest continued to weigh on the wheat market. As of August 9, 91% of the US winter wheat crop had been harvested, in line with the average pace, while the spring wheat harvest reached 24%, ahead of the five-year average of 19%. US wheat export inspections totaled 421.3 thsd tons in the week ending August 6, bringing marketing-year shipments to 3.33 mln tons, down 24.6% year-on-year.

Market participants are awaiting updated US crop estimates. Ahead of the NASS report, analysts expect US wheat production at 1.525 bln bushels, 11 mln bushels below the July estimate. US wheat ending stocks are meanwhile projected at 715 mln bushels, down 7 mln bushels from the previous forecast.

Chicago corn futures ended Monday slightly lower, with the September contract falling 0.17% to $172.54/t. US export shipments remain strong, however, reaching 1.74 mln tons for the week and 79.02 mln tons since the beginning of the marketing year, up 25% year-on-year. Analysts expect the US corn yield at 182.4 bushels per acre (11.45 t/ha), with production estimated at 15.934 bln bushels (404.7 mln tons).

Soybeans moved in the opposite direction, with November CBOT futures gaining 0.28% to $433.38/t. As of August 9, 74% of the US soybean crop had set pods, 5 percentage points ahead of the five-year average, although the share of the crop rated good to excellent slipped to 62%. Analysts expect US soybean production at 4.472 bln bushels (121.7 mln tons), with new-crop ending stocks estimated at around 304 mln bushels.

European grain markets diverged from Chicago, with MATIF wheat posting a notable decline while November corn gained 0.7% to €249.25/t ($288.08/t). In vegetable oils, sunflower oil FOB Rotterdam was assessed at $1,520/t on August 10, while November ICE canola futures rose 1.94% to CAD 794.9/t.

Tags: soybean, wheat, USA