(Reuters) – Chicago corn fell around 1 percent on Monday to snap a two-session rising streak while new-crop soybeans slid to a contract low as forecasts of near-record production in the United States continued to drag prices lower.
Wheat futures were little changed after strengthening last week on concerns about supplies from Ukraine and crop quality downgrades in France.
Chicago Board of Trade December corn fell nearly 1 percent to $3.68 a bushel by 0401 GMT, having gained 0.7 percent on Friday.
November soybeans dropped 0.8 percent to $10.33-3/4 a bushel after hitting a contract low of $10.32-1/2 a bushel earlier in the session. December wheat lost a quarter of a cent to $5.62 a bushel.
“We see lower prices for corn, soybeans and even wheat largely driven by fundamentals,” said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank.
“In particular, there are favourable conditions in the United States for corn and soybeans,” Ziebell said.
Pro Farmer, a farm advisory service, projected U.S. 2014 corn production at a record 14.093 billion bushels, based on a yield of 169.3 bushels per acre.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week estimated the crop at a record high of 14.032 billion bushels on a yield of 167.4 bushels per acre.
The results of the tour are widely viewed as a landmark assessment of the U.S. corn crop every year as it makes field-level observations across the seven states that account for roughly 70 percent of national production.
The Pro Farmer tour fuelled expectations among analysts that the USDA will raise its national corn yield forecast.
Pro Farmer forecast U.S. soybean production at 3.812 billion bushels, with an average yield of 45.35 bushels per acre. Last week, the USDA pegged the crop at an all-time high of 3.816 billion bushels, with a yield of 45.4 bushels per acre.
Commodity funds bought a net 4,000 Chicago Board of Trade corn contracts on Friday, trade sources said. The funds also bought 3,000 contracts in wheat and 3,000 in soybeans.
Wheat futures closed higher on Friday on escalating tensions in Ukraine and lower quality of wheat in France.
Ukraine marked its independence day on Sunday with a military march-past in Kiev intended to send a message of defiance to Russia, but pro-Moscow rebels countered by parading captured Ukrainian troops through the streets of their main stronghold.
