GRAINS-Corn sags as harvest of a bumper US crop advances; soybeans retreat
By Julie Ingwersen
CHICAGO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell on Monday, retreating from a two-month high set on Friday, as market players mulled projections for a record-large U.S. harvest of the grain, analysts said.
Soybean futures turned down as worries resurfaced about export demand from top global buyer China. U.S. and Chinese officials met in Spain and reached a potential deal on the short-video app TikTok, but made no mention of agricultural commodities.
But wheat futures inched higher, supported by news that top global supplier Russia planned to hike wheat export taxes.
As of 1:05 p.m. CDT (1805 GMT), CBOT December corn CZ25 was down 7 cents at $4.23 per bushel. November soybeans SX25 were down 4 cents at $10.42-1/4 a bushel while December wheat WZ25 was up 1-1/2 cents at $5.25 a bushel.
Corn futures fell as the market digested Friday's larger-than-expected U.S. corn production estimate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The government trimmed its yield forecast, as analysts expected, but raised its acreage figure and pegged the crop at a record-large 16.8 billion bushels.
Given high levels of crop disease and dry late-summer weather, some market players believe the USDA will lower its production estimates later this autumn. Nonetheless, farmers and brokers are still bracing for a huge harvest.
"I think this just brought us back to reality," said Tom Fritz, analyst with EFG Group in Chicago.
Soybean futures fell but found underlying support from bullish monthly U.S. soybean crush data. The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) said its members crushed 189.810 million bushels of soybeans in August, topping a range of trade expectations. The total was down 3.0% from the previous month but up 20.1% from the August 2024 crush.
Seasonal pressure from the start of the U.S. harvest hung over markets. Ahead of the USDA's weekly crop progress report due later on Monday, analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the government to report harvest progress at 9% for corn and 5% for soybeans.
CBOT wheat futures firmed on bargain-buying after the benchmark December contract WZ25 set a contract low last week.
Additional support stemmed from news that Russia will increase its wheat export duty almost threefold starting on September 17.
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