(NASDAQ) – Grain and soybean futures fell Wednesday as weather forecasts promised a reprieve for U.S. crops after scorching heat blankets the Midwest this week.
After a choppy day of trade in agricultural markets, soybean prices declined to a fresh more than two-month low, weighed down by forecasts for cooler weather, which is expected to follow 90-to-100-degree temperatures setting in across the Farm Belt. Analysts said the losses came in part because commodity funds were continuing to liquidate long positions — or bets on higher prices — as fears lessened that hot, dry weather in August would sap crop yields, curbing soybean output in the fall.
“The bean crop is far from made, but we are dealing with a ‘get me out’ trade as the volatility is taking a toll,” said Doug Bergman, an analyst at investment firm RCM Asset Management in Chicago.
Soybean futures for delivery in August slid 17 cents, or 1.6%, to $10.27 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade, the lowest closing price since May 9.
Corn prices also dropped, pressured by speculation that U.S. farmers could see better-than-expected yields for that crop as mostly favorable weather has reigned over the Midwest this year, benefiting plant development. While excess heat is hitting the heart of the Farm Belt toward the end of corn’s key pollination phase, analysts said crop yields likely will see minimal damage, and unthreatening weather in the offing also bodes well for corn.
CBOT September corn declined 4 1/4 cents, or 1.2%, to $3.37 1/2 a bushel.
Wheat prices slid for the fifth out of six consecutive sessions, buffeted by the advancing U.S. harvest, which is adding to bulging grain supplies, and evidence of growing world wheat production. According to the Australian bureau of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, unusually good weather will bump Australia’s 2016-17 wheat output will to 26 million metric tons, which is 500,000 tons higher than the USDA’s latest forecast.
