Corn set for second weekly loss on tepid demand; wheat down

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SINGAPORE — Chicago corn futures lost more ground on Friday with the market poised for a second weekly loss as a slow pace of U.S. exports weighed on prices.

Wheat eased, setting the market on course for a fourth weekly loss, while soybeans are set to end the week flat.

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FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.3% at $6.80 a bushel, as of 0031 GMT, wheat gave up 0.3% to $8.35-3/4 a bushel and soybeans were largely flat at $13.93-3/4 a bushel.

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* For the week, corn is down around half a percent, wheat has given up 1.7% and soybeans are almost flat.

* Lower U.S. exports added pressure in Chicago corn futures.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported weekly U.S. corn export sales of 264,000 tonnes in the week ended Oct. 20. That was below the low end of analysts’ estimates that ranged from 350,000 to 1.075 million tonnes.

* The USDA said weekly U.S. soybean export sales totalled 1.026 million tonnes, in line with analysts’ forecasts for 800,000 to 1.850 million tonnes. Weekly export sales of U.S. wheat were 533,200 tonnes, above the high end of trade expectations that ranged from 100,000 to 500,000 tonnes.

* Much-needed rain improved conditions for 2022/23 wheat and corn in Argentina, where a prolonged drought has generated losses and area cuts for both crops, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday.

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* The country’s main agricultural regions received between 20 and 100 millimeters of water from Tuesday to Wednesday, which brought relief for crops after significant rainfalls had not been recorded in the region since May this year.

* The market is monitoring talks to extend an export corridor for Ukrainian grain on the Black Sea, following Russia’s invasion.

* Russia said on Thursday provisions of the Black Sea grain deal to ease Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports were not being met, and that Moscow was yet to make a decision on whether the agreement should be extended.

* The European Commission reduced its forecast for the drought-hit corn harvest in the European Union to a new 15-year low while increasing again its outlook for EU maize imports.

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* Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, wheat and soyoil futures contracts on Thursday and net buyers of soymeal futures, traders said. Funds were seen as net even in soybean futures.

MARKET NEWS

* U.S. stocks were mixed and European shares ended nearly flat on Thursday as investors balanced mixed earnings reports and economic data, while the pound retreated from mid-September highs.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0630 France GDP Preliminary QQ Q3 0645 France CPI (EU Norm) Prelim YY Oct 0645 France Producer Prices YY Sept 0800 Germany GDP Flash QQ SA, YY NSA Q3 0900 EU Consumer Confid. Final Oct 0800 Germany CPI Prelim YY Oct 0800 Germany HICP Prelim YY Oct 1230 US Consumption, Adjusted MM Sept 1400 US U Mich Sentiment Final Oct (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)