Wheat down 8-9 cents, corn steady-up 1, soy up 2-4 cents

Following are U.S. expectations for the resumption of grain and soy complex trading at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) at 8:30 a.m. CST (1430 GMT) on Thursday.

NOTE: Traders await the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly supply/demand report due at 11 a.m. CST (1700 GMT).

WHEAT – Down 8 to 9 cents per bushel

* Wheat futures head lower, pressured by strong export competition from suppliers in the Black Sea region and a stronger dollar, which tends to make U.S. grains less attractive globally. The benchmark CBOT March contract WH24 stayed inside of Wednesday’s trading range in early moves.

* The USDA reported export sales of U.S. 2023/24 wheat in the week ended Feb. 1 at 378,400 metric tons, in line with trade expectations for 275,000 to 550,000 tons. EXP/WHE

* Statistics Canada reported Canadian all-wheat stocks as of Dec. 31 at 20.681 million metric tons, near an average of analyst expectations for 20.7 million tons and down 10.3% from a year ago.

* CBOT March soft red winter wheat WH24 last traded down 8-1/4 cents at $5.93-3/4 per bushel. K.C. March hard red winter wheat KWH24 was last down 7-1/2 cents at $6.10-3/4 a bushel and MGEX March spring wheat MWEH24 was last down 4-1/4 cents at $6.92.

CORN – Steady to up 1 cent per bushel

* Corn futures turned up ahead of the daily pause in trade after the March CH24 contract fell to $4.32, the lowest on a continuous chart of the most-active contract Cv1 since December 2020. Ample U.S. corn supplies hang over the market as traders await the USDA’s monthly supply/demand report.

* Brazilian crop agency Conab lowered its forecast for the country’s 2023/24 total corn production to 113.7 million tons, from 117.6 million in its January estimate, citing adverse weather.

* The USDA reported export sales of U.S. corn in the week ended Feb. 1 at 1,219,300 metric tons, toward the high end of trade expectations for 600,000 to 1,300,000 tons.

* Separately, under its daily reporting rules, the USDA confirmed private sales of 200,000 metric tons of U.S. corn to Colombia.

* Statistics Canada reported Canadian oat stocks as of Dec. 31 at 2.144 million metric tons, just above an average of analyst expectations for 2.0 million and down 40.3% from a year ago.

* CBOT March corn CH24 last traded up 3/4 cent at $4.35 per bushel.

SOYBEANS – Up 2 to 4 cents per bushel

* Soybean futures climbed to session highs after Brazil’s crop supply agency Conab lowered its forecast for the country’s 2023/24 soybean crop to 149.4 million metric tons, from 155.2 million tons a month ago. But the most-active March soybean contract SH24 stayed inside of Wednesday’s trading range as market players awaited more direction from the USDA’s supply/demand report.

* The USDA reported export sales of U.S. 2023/24 soybeans in the week ended Feb. 1 at 340,800 metric tons, below a range of trade expectations for 400,000 to 1,000,000 tons.

* Statistics Canada reported Canadian canola stocks as of Dec. 31 at 12.851 million metric tons, just below an average of analyst expectations for 13.0 million and up 1.3% from a year ago.

* Analysts on average expect the USDA later on Thursday to lower its forecast of Brazilian soybean production and raise its estimate of Argentina’s soy crop.

* CBOT March soybeans SH24 last traded up 4-1/4 cents at $11.93-1/4 per bushel.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Julie Ingwersen)