Corn Rises for 3rd Session as U.S. Crop Ratings Decline
Category: Grains
(Reuters) – Chicago corn rose for a third consecutive session on Tuesday to its highest in more than a week, with prices supported by a U.S. government report showing a marginal decline in crop ratings.
Wheat edged lower after climbing almost 2 percent on Monday while soybeans gained for a second session.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture in its weekly crop progress report rated 60 percent of the U.S. corn crop in good to excellent condition, down from 61 percent a week earlier.
* The agency also rated 60 percent of the soybean crop as good to excellent, up from 59 percent the previous week.
* Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average had expected no change in ratings for either crop.
* Corn and soybean markets are taking direction from weather in the U.S. Midwest as both crops mature. Temperatures have turned cooler this month but some areas need moisture.
* Investors have started adjusting their holdings ahead of the USDA’s hotly anticipated supply-demand reports for August, which are due on Thursday.
* Reports will include the department’s first yield estimates incorporating field data for the 2017 U.S. corn and soybean crops.
* Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the USDA to
project the U.S. 2017 corn yield at 166.2 bushels per acre (bpa), below the government’s current trend-based forecast of 170.7 bpa.
* For soybeans, the average of analysts’ yield estimates was 47.5 bpa, below the USDA’s current trend-based figure of 48.0 bpa.
* Wheat prices have been underpinned by hot and dry weather in U.S. spring crop areas although ample world supplies are keeping a lid on the market.
* France, the European Union’s largest grain grower, is expected to produce 36.8 million tonnes of soft wheat, up from 36.2 million estimated a month ago and a third higher than last year’s weather-hit crop of just 27.6 million.
* Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan anticipate strong exports in the current 2017/18 marketing year as recent good weather has buoyed their expectations for bumper crops.
MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares neared decade peaks on Tuesday thanks to optimism on the global economy and a rash of records on Wall Street, while major currencies were becalmed ahead of Chinese trade data.
