Wheat eases as short-covering rally fades
CANBERRA/PARIS - Chicago wheat futures edged lower for a second day on Friday, consolidating below a one-month high as short-covering by investment funds subsided and traders saw generally favourable harvest prospects in the Northern Hemisphere.
Corn and soybean futures were little changed, also consolidating after gains this week and ahead of the Memorial Day holiday that will keep U.S. markets closed on Monday. The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.2% at $5.43-1/4 a bushel by 1022 GMT, moving away from Wednesday's one-month peak of $5.56-1/4. Wheat rallied early this week in a rebound from a near five-year low of $5.06-1/4 hit on May 13, as concerns over adverse weather in Russia and China and an unexpected decline in U.S. wheat ratings triggered short-covering by speculators. But traders are not convinced that crops will suffer significant immediate losses and funds switched back to being net sellers on Thursday, traders said. "CBOT wheat was too cheap. Now it's more fairly priced," said Rabobank analyst Vitor Pistoia in Sydney. However, prices are likely to rise further only if there is a significant and crop-damaging change in weather conditions, he said. The International Grains Council on Thursday maintained its 2025-26 wheat crop outlook at 806 million metric tons, while consultancy Sovecon this week raised its 2025 Russian wheat production forecast to 81 million metric tons from 79.8 million tons. Demand for competitively priced U.S. wheat has helped underpin prices, as illustrated by better-than-expected weekly U.S. wheat export sales data released on Thursday. However, a Reuters report that top wheat exporter Russia has removed a minimum export price recommendation for May and June put attention back on competition from the Black Sea region. CBOT soybeans was flat at $10.67-1/2 a bushel , consolidating below an earlier one-week high. CBOT corn inched down 0.1% to $4.62-1/2 a bushel, after reaching a two-week peak on Thursday. Favourable U.S. crop conditions and large harvests in Brazil were keeping a lid on corn and soybean prices.
The IGC raised its forecast for 2025-26 global corn production by 3 million metric tons to 1.277 billion tons. Prices at 1022 GMT Last Change Pct Move CBOT wheat 543.25 -1.25 -0.23 CBOT corn 462.50 -0.50 -0.11 CBOT soy 1067.50 0.00 0.00 Paris wheat 207.25 -2.00 -0.96 Paris maize 206.25 -1.00 -0.48 Paris rapeseed 489.00 -0.25 -0.05 WTI crude oil 61.13 -0.07 -0.11 Euro/dlr 1.14 0.01 0.64 Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per metric ton
Reuters
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