(Reuters) – May 4 U.S. wheat steadied on Wednesday, after falling to an eight-day low in the previous session as a widely watched crop tour of a key U.S. producing region projected above average yields, further fueling expectations of bumper production.
FUNDAMENTALS
The most active wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade edged up 0.3 percent to $4.72 a bushel, having closed down 3.5 percent on Wednesday at an eight-day low, with selling exacerbated by profit-taking.
The most active soybean futures fell 0.2 percent to $10.27-1/2 a bushel, having closed down 1.3 percent on Tuesday after prices had earlier hit a 15-month high.
The most active corn futures fell 0.4 percent to $3.78-1/4 a bushel, having closed down 3.1 percent in the previous session when prices fell to an eight-day low.
Crop scouts on the first day of the annual three-day tour of Kansas hard red winter wheat fields projected an average yield of 47.2 bushels per acre in the northern portion of the state, up from tour findings of 34.3 bushels a year ago.
The U.S. Agriculture Department on Monday said good-to-excellent ratings for the winter wheat crop rose 2 percentage points to 61 percent in the week ended May 1.
USDA also said corn planting advanced 15 percentage points to 45 percent complete, well ahead of the five-year average of 30 percent.
Closely watched crop forecaster Informa Economics on Tuesday lowered its outlook for the Argentine bean crop to 55.0 million tonnes from 59.5 million. It also trimmed its Brazil soybean production view to 100.1 million tonnes from 100.5 million. Argentina lost an estimated 9 million tonnes of soybeans in April storms that swamped the Pampas farm belt, an analyst with the state weather agency said on Monday.
MARKET NEWS
The yen backed off from an 18-month high against the dollar on Wednesday, having lost some steam as position squaring set in after its sharp rally since last week.
Oil prices fell for a second day on Tuesday, retreating further from the year’s highs hit last week, as rising output renewed worries about the global glut of crude, the U.S. dollar rebounded and equity markets weakened.
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday after weak economic data in China and Europe reignited worries about global growth, while oil prices dropped for a second day, dragging down energy shares.
