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PARIS/SINGAPORE - Chicago corn, wheat and soybean futures eased on Tuesday to hold near multi-month lows, as improved U.S. crop ratings kept attention on favourable Midwest weather, underscoring the prospect of ample global supply.
Three-month lows for crude oil, following the announcement of an outline deal to end the Iran war, also weighed, though traders were watching to see if price weakness could spur more demand from grain importers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture rated 68% of the nation's corn and 66% of soybeans in good-to-excellent condition, each up one percentage point from a week earlier. Spring wheat was rated 55% good-to-excellent, up three percentage points from last week.
Ratings for the drought-affected winter wheat crop remained near historical lows, but the weekly score rose while harvest progress was faster than anticipated by analysts. Widespread rain and warm weather have benefitted crops across the central United States in the past week, reinforcing market expectations of adequate global supply of major crops. "Grain seasonals are bearish, recent fund selling points towards more downside, and U.S. weather forecasts look great," Peak Trading Research said in a note. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) (Sv1) fell 0.8% to $11.10 a bushel by 1004 GMT, CBOT corn lost 0.5% to $4.13-1/2 a bushel and CBOT wheat ticked down 0.3% to $5.88-1/4 a bushel.
On Monday, corn hit a nine-month low, soybeans a four-month low and wheat a two-month low, before all three crops ended higher. After financial investors sharply reduced long positions since last month, traders were watching to see if the markets could find a footing pending further direction from Northern Hemisphere wheat harvesting and U.S. planting data at the end of the month.
Algeria has issued a tender to buy wheat for August shipment, traders said on Monday. In the U.S., the National Oilseed Processors Association said its members crushed 208.785 million bushels of soybeans in May, down 1.4% from April and below nearly all trade estimates.
Prices at 1004 GMT Last Change Pct Move CBOT wheat 588.25 -1.50 -0.25 CBOT corn 413.50 -2.00 -0.48 CBOT soy 1110.00 -9.25 -0.83 Paris wheat 201.25 1.50 0.75 Paris maize 210.75 1.25 0.60 Paris rapeseed 508.50 -4.75 -0.93 WTI crude oil 79.02 -1.73 -2.14 Euro/dollar 1.16 0.00 0.09 Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy U.S. cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per metric ton.





















