(Reuters) – Chicago soybeans were on track on Wednesday to finish 2014 with a decline of almost 21 percent, the market’s biggest loss in a decade as bumper production in the United States and South America ensured plentiful supplies.
Corn and wheat have fallen marginally this year after rallying more than 26 percent in the fourth quarter following heavy losses earlier in 2014.
Strong demand for U.S. corn and concerns over Russian wheat supplies sparked fund buying and gains towards the year-end.
“Funds were really short grains earlier but they are now long grains,” said one Sydney-based trader.
Chicago Board of Trade March wheat rose 0.3 percent to $6.03-3/4 a bushel by 0322 GMT on Wednesday, corn eased 0.3 percent to $4.05-1/2 a bushel and soybeans added 0.1 percent to $10.38-3/4 a bushel.
Trading is light ahead of this week’s New Year holiday, with investors squaring positions before the year-end.
U.S. corn exports have climbed in recent weeks, supporting prices. Export sales in the week ended Dec. 18 hit a 10-week high of 1.7 million tonnes, above trade forecasts for 500,000 to 800,000 tonnes.
Russia, the world’s fourth largest wheat exporter, introduced grain export duties of no less than 35 euros per tonne, starting from Feb. 1, to stabilise domestic prices.
Large speculators raised their net long position in CBOT corn futures in the week to Dec. 23, regulatory data released on Tuesday showed.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, trimmed their net short position in CBOT wheat and increased their net short position in soybeans.
The wheat market is monitoring a blast of cold weather in the U.S. Plains wheat belt as some of the dormant hard red winter wheat crop lacks a protective snow cover. However, the most recent forecasts were less worrisome than earlier this week.
Analysts expect a massive South American soy crop after largely favourable crop weather this season. One closely followed crop scout raised his Brazilian soy crop outlook by 1 million tonnes this week, traders said.
