(Reuters) – Chicago soybean futures were set for a weekly decline on Friday after nine weeks of strong gains as concerns over dry weather eased in key producing area the U.S. Midwest.
Wheat was also set for a weekly decline, its second week of losses, as abundant supplies and an outlook for a bumper U.S. winter crop weighed on prices.
Corn is on track for a sixth week of gains, although the market has given up some of its weather premium.
Chicago Board of Trade soybeans have lost around three percent this week after climbing more than 28 percent in the last nine weeks.
“Rainfall in the U.S. Midwest has improved conditions for the near term but both corn and soybeans have some time before harvest,” said Kaname Gokon at brokerage Okato Shoji in Tokyo.
“Import demand for U.S. soybeans and corn is pretty strong.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said export sales of combined old- and new-crop corn totalled more than 1 million tonnes for the sixth straight week, while soybean sales surpassed trade expectations.
The rally in soybeans was triggered by crop losses in Argentina where rains ahead of the harvest curbed yields. Fears of a La Nina weather pattern bringing dryness to the U.S. Midwest have fuelled gains in soybean and corn markets.
But both markets have faced price pressure this week after a report from the USDA showed the soybean crop condition improving and the corn crop steady. Rains over the last few days and forecasts of further precipitation have weighed on prices.
The good-to-excellent rating for U.S. soybean crop was at 74 percent, up from 72 percent a week ago and above last year’s 67 percent, the agency said.
The USDA rated 75 percent of the corn crop in good-to-excellent condition, unchanged from the previous week.
Wheat futures faced headwinds from ample world supplies and expectations for a bumper U.S. winter crop harvest. The contract is down 3.6 percent in its second week of decline.
