U.S. wheat futures resumed their downward trend on Tuesday, edging lower after a spike in the previous session, as expectations of ample global supply weighed on prices. Corn fell, giving back nearly some of its gains from the previous session, while soybeans were little changed.
Chicago Board of Trade May wheat dipped 0.2 percent to //$4.89 a bushel, having closed up 1.6 percent in the previous session as traders covered short positions ahead of the the US Department of Agriculture’s latest supply and demand forecast.
However, analysts said the market’s fundamentals are unchanged.
“People are wondering what the USDA report will say, but the reality remains that there is plenty of supply and if you are in the market for wheat, you have a lot of options,” said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist, National Australia Bank.
The USDA report due later in the day is expected to raise the estimate for 2014/15 wheat ending stocks to 699 million bushels, up from 692 million bushels in February, according to a Reuters’ poll.
May corn fell 0.2 percent to //$3.88 a bushel, after gaining 0.7 percent in the previous session.
Corn had drawn support from firm cash values in the Midwest and the US Gulf as corn processors and exporters tried to draw out grain sales from reluctant farmers.
May soybeans fell 0.1 percent to //$9.92-1/4 a bushel, having firmed 0.84 percent on Monday.
Losses in soybeans remain capped by uncertainty surrounding the USDA estimate, analysts said.
Analysts predict the USDA will trim its forecast for US 2014-15 soybean ending stocks to 376 million bushels, down from the February figure of 385 million bushels.
The market remains concerned by truck driver strikes in Brazil, potentially slowing exports from one of the world’s largest soybean exporters.
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