Wheat falls on profit-taking, tightening supplies check losses

Chicago wheat futures lost more ground on Wednesday, with profit-taking driving down the market which climbed to a two-month high earlier this week on strong demand and tightening supplies in top exporter Russia.

Corn retreated from a three-week high scaled in the previous session and soybeans slid.

“Here we see the flow on from less Russian wheat being available,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

“And that flows on to likely making room for more U.S. wheat exports to flow eastward as season 2021 progresses.”

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade

(CBOT) Wv1 gave up 0.9% to $7.45-3/4 a bushel, as of 0245 GMT, having closed 1% lower on Tuesday.

Corn Cv1 lost 0.4% to $5.41-1/2 a bushel and soybeans Sv1 fell 0.2 % to $12.35-1/4 a bushel.

The wheat market is being underpinned by strong demand and tightening world supplies.

Russian wheat export prices gained last week after a brief pause due to a stronger rouble and higher global prices for the grain.

The U.S. corn crop was 66% harvested, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said, ahead of the five-year average of 53% and analysts’ estimates of 65%.

The U.S. soybean harvest was 73% complete, as of Sunday, the USDA said, ahead of the five-year average of 70%, but behind the average estimate in a Reuters analyst poll.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters, on average, had expected soybean harvest progress to reach 74%.

Argentine farmers have so far sold 32.7 million tonnes of 2020/21 soy, the Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday in a report including data through Oct. 20.

The rhythm of sales was lagging the previous season, when as of the same date last year sales of 33.9 million tonnes of the oilseed had been registered, according to official data.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn and soybean futures contracts on Tuesday, traders said. They were net sellers of wheat, soyoil and soymeal futures.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Rashmi Aich)