Wheat set for biggest monthly drop in 2 years on harvest pressure

SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat retreated on Friday from strong gains posted in the previous session, with the market on track for its biggest monthly drop in two years as the northern hemisphere harvest and improved Argentine planting weather weighed on prices.

Corn and soybeans gained ground, with both markets poised for monthly losses.

“Reports of rains in northern Argentina, allowing for wheat sowing, have contributed to bearish market sentiment, with the USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Report Estimates for June increasing its outlook for US wheat production by 17 million bushels from the month prior,” according to a report from BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.2% at $5.78 a bushel, as of 0206 GMT.

Corn added 0.3% to 4.23-3/4 a bushel and soybeans gained 0.4% at $11.09-1/4 a bushel. Wheat prices have dropped close to 15% so far this month, the biggest decline since June 2022.

Corn has dropped more than 5%, the most since August and soybeans have given up around 8%, the biggest since May last year.

Harvest of wheat crops in top exporters in the northern hemisphere added seasonal pressure on prices.

Wheat planting for the current harvesting season in Argentina has advanced rapidly over the past week due to recent rainfall over parts in the country’s main farmland, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said in a weekly report published on Thursday.

Wheat recovers from two-month low, US harvest pressure limits gains

The European Commission on Thursday raised its forecast for the European Union’s main wheat crop this year and for EU wheat exports both in the current and next season.

The International Grains Council raised its forecast for 2024/25 global corn production on Thursday, driven mainly by an improved outlook for Brazil’s crop.

The inter-governmental body’s monthly update gave an upward revision to its 2024/25 global corn crop outlook, increasing the forecast by 3 million metric tons to 1.223 billion tons, though it remained marginally below the previous season’s 1.226 billion tons.