(Reuters) – U.S. new-crop corn fell for a fourth straight session to a contract low on Wednesday and wheat dropped to its lowest in more than a week as prospects of bumper stocks worldwide continued to hammer grain markets.
Soybeans edged higher, snapping four sessions of decline on expectations that buyers would emerge after the market plunged to a contract low on Tuesday.
Chicago Board Of Trade December corn fell 0.1 percent to $3.68 a bushel by 0038 GMT, just above a contract low of $3.67-1/4 a bushel hit earlier in the session.
Front-month wheat fell as much as 0.8 percent to $5.20-1/4 a bushel, its lowest since July 14. November soybeans rose 0.2 percent to $10.60-1/4 a bushel, after sliding 1.3 percent on Tuesday to hit a contract low of $10.57 a bushel.
“When production goes beyond a point where you can’t incrementally export more, that is the time when prices really trade at much lower than what you thought was possible,” said one Melbourne-based analyst.
“$3 a bushel might be too low (for corn) but there is potential to go down further.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture late on Monday rated 76 percent of the U.S. corn crop in good to excellent condition, the highest for this time of year in a decade.
Some analysts are projecting a national corn yield of 170 bushels per acre, above the USDA’s current forecast for a record high 165.3 bushels per acre.
The USDA rated 73 percent of the soy crop good to excellent, up 1 point from last week and the highest since 1994.
The USDA on Monday reported sales of 120,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China for delivery in the 2013/14 marketing year that ends Aug. 31.
Big spring wheat yields were projected in southern North Dakota as abundant soil moisture and cool weather helped foster crop development following an uneven planting season, scouts on an annual crop tour found.
Yield potential across the southern areas of the state, the largest spring wheat producer, was calculated at an average of 48.3 bushels per acre, based on surveys of 156 fields. That compares with 43.3 bushels per acre in 2013 and the tour’s five-year average of 42.9 bushels per acre.
Traders are expecting U.S. wheat to win some business as it has become competitive in the global market after losing about a quarter of its value since the beginning of May.
“We think Chicago wheat is undervalued relative to a lot of other origins,” the Melbourne analyst said. “We think soft red winter wheat has potential to win some of the tender business at these levels.”
