By Naveen Thukral and Sybille de La Hamaide
Chicago corn futures fell for a fourth consecutive session on Tuesday, trading near the four-year low hit the previous day on expectations of record U.S. production and sales of old-crop supplies by farmers.
Prices of soybeans and wheat were subdued by plentiful supplies, with one Singapore-based trader pointing to the Northern Hemisphere harvest, particularly from the Black Sea region.
The most active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Cv1 was down 0.3% at 3.85-1/4 a bushel at 0259 GMT, having earlier equalled Monday’s four-year low of $3.85. Corn has shed more than 3% in the past week.
Wheat Wv1 lost 0.7% to $5.21-1/2 a bushel while soybeans Sv1 fell 0.2% to $9.78-3/4 a bushel.
A flurry of U.S. farmer selling has continued this week, adding downward pressure to corn futures.
A closely followed crop tour run by advisory service ProFarmer projected record crop yields in major producer states Illinois and Iowa, reinforcing a global oversupply picture.
ProFarmer also reported that the U.S. soybean harvest will be even bigger than the government’s record forecast.
However, a heatwave and lack of rainfall in large parts of the U.S. Midwest could damage the soybean crop during its key development stage and has left industry players uncertain about projected record yields, analysts said.
In Europe, crop monitoring service MARS on Monday cut most of its average grain yield forecasts for the region, with another sharp reduction for maize as hot weather continues to take a toll of crops in southeast Europe.
Brazilian farmers have started sowing their 2024/25 first corn crop, the AgRural consultancy said on Monday, estimating work in the fields to have reached 4.2% of the projected area in the key centre-south region by late last week.
Wheat futures also face headwinds from cheap Black Sea supplies.
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