Grains set for quarterly losses; market eyes US planting report
Soybeans down 3% this quarter, corn 4.2% lower, wheat 13% down
U.S. planting intentions report to set direction for prices
Updates prices
By Naveen Thukral and Sybille de La Hamaide
SINGAPORE/PARIS, March 31 (Reuters) -Chicago wheat eased while soybean and corn futures were nearly flat on Friday, with all three grains set for quarterly losses, in light trade as participants were expecting a U.S. government report on planting intentions due later in the day.
The most-active wheat Wv1 contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) slid 0.6% to $6.88-1/2 a bushel, as of 1030 GMT. Soybeans were up 0.1% at $14.76-3/4 a bushel while corn Cv1 was virtually unchanged at $6.49-3/4 a bushel .
"Traders were positioning for the key USDA planted acreage and March 1 stocks reports," commodities research firm Hightower said in a report. "The small range for the acreage report has left the market concerned for a surprise..."
For the quarter wheat is down 13%, soybeans are down 3% and corn has lost 4.2%.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will release its planting intentions and quarterly stocks reports at 1600 GMT Friday.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the USDA to project total U.S. 2023 corn plantings at 90.9 million acres, up from 88.6 million a year earlier, but down slightly from the 91 million acres that the USDA forecast at its February Outlook Forum.
For soybeans, analysts on average expect the USDA to estimate total U.S. 2023 soybean plantings at 88.2 million acres, up from 87.5 million a year earlier and above the USDA's February Outlook Forum forecast of 87.5 million.
In the wheat market, pressure stemmed from plentiful global supplies.
European Union production of common wheat will total 130.9 million tonnes in 2023, up from 126 million tonnes the previous year, the European Commission projected.
Global grain trader Viterra's management team in Russia plans to create an independent Russian grain exporter once the company ceases export activities in the country, Nikolai Demyanov, the head of its Russian office, told Reuters on Thursday.
Russia's agriculture ministry said Viterra's decision will not affect the amount of the country's grain exports.
Viterra's announcement comes a day after rival Cargill said it would take a further step back from the Russian grain market.
Argentina's Buenos Aires grains exchange maintained its 2022/2023 harvest forecasts for both soy and corn on Thursday, after making consecutive sharp cuts in recent months amid a historic drought.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT wheat, soyoil, soybean and corn futures contracts on Thursday and net buyers of soymeal futures, traders said. COMFUND/CBT
Prices at 1030 GMT | |||
Last | Change | Pct Move | |
CBOT wheat Wv1 | 688,25 | -4,00 | -0,58 |
CBOT corn Cv1 | 649,75 | 0,25 | 0,04 |
CBOT soy Sv1 | 1476,75 | 2,25 | 0,15 |
Paris wheat BL2K3 | 260,50 | -1,25 | -0,48 |
Paris maize EMAM3 | 257,50 | -1,50 | -0,58 |
Paris rapeseed COMc1 | 472,25 | 5,50 | 1,18 |
WTI crude oil CLc1 | 74,64 | 0,27 | 0,36 |
Euro/dlr EUR= | 1,0878 | -0,002 | -0,211 |
Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per tonne | |||
Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Sohini Goswami and Sharon Singleton
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