GRAINS-Corn drops on US planting outlook, wheat falls

SINGAPORE, March 19 (Reuters) - Chicago corn futures slid for a second session on Wednesday, with pressure from expectations of higher planting in the United States this year.

Wheat faced headwinds as Russia agreed to stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities temporarily even though it declined to endorse a full 30-day ceasefire.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Cv1 fell 0.5% to $4.56-1/2 a bushel, as of 0008 GMT and wheat Wv1 gave up 0.9% to $5.59-3/4 a bushel. Soybeans Sv1 were down 0.1% at $10.12 a bushel.

S&P Global Commodity Insights projected on Tuesday that U.S. farmers would plant 94.3 million acres of corn in 2025, up 800,000 acres from its previous forecast released on January 21 and up 3.7 million acres from 2024, an S&P Global spokesperson said.

The firm left its forecast of U.S. 2025 soybean plantings unchanged from January at 83.3 million acres, down 3.8 million acres from a year ago.

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Tuesday to temporarily stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities but declined to endorse a full 30-day ceasefire that President Donald Trump hoped would be the first step toward a permanent peace deal.

An end to the conflict would be potentially bearish for grain prices, according to analysts, as it could ease security and sanctions constraints on exports from Ukraine and Russia.

The USDA on Monday reported higher-than-expected weekly export inspections for wheat, while corn and soybean volumes were within a range of trade estimates.

Financial markets operator CME Group CME.O said on Tuesday that it plans to launch cash-settled futures for European rapeseed oil next month, using an Argus Media index for Dutch prices.

Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, soybean, soymeal and wheat futures contracts on Tuesday, traders said. Funds were net buyers of soyoil futures. COMFUND/CBT

MARKET NEWS

Wall Street ended sharply lower and gold surged to record highs on Tuesday as the U.S. Federal Reserve convened for its two-day monetary policy meeting while economic uncertainty mounted. MKTS/GLOB

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

1000 EU HICP Final MM, HICP Final YY Feb