CANBERRA/PARIS - Chicago wheat rose on Wednesday after U.S. crop ratings came in below market expectations, though prices remained within sight of a five-year low amid broadly favourable harvest prospects in the northern hemisphere and sluggish international demand. Corn futures also rose, similarly drawing support from a lower than expected U.S. crop conditions score. Soybeans edged lower. The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 1.0% at $5.34 a bushel by 1018 GMT. After a short-covering rally lifted wheat from a near five-year low of $5.06-1/4 earlier this month, actual or forecast rain in the U.S. Plains, northern Europe and China have underlined expectations for plentiful supply, fuelling a 2.6% slide in Chicago prices on Tuesday. But U.S. Department of Agriculture data released after the market close on Tuesday rekindled some doubts about crop conditions. The USDA's weekly report showed only 45% of U.S. spring wheat in good to excellent condition, below the lowest in a range of analyst expectations. For winter wheat, the agency rated 50% of the U.S. crop as good to excellent, down 2 points from a week earlier and beneath the average analyst forecast, though still the highest rating for this time of year since 2020. "This is the key reason wheat prices are trying to bounce this morning," CM Navigator analyst Donatas Jankauskas said of the USDA crop ratings. But global wheat demand is low and the risk to crop production will reduce further as northern hemisphere harvests ramp up, said Rod Baker, an analyst at Australian Crop Forecasters in Perth. "Hefty short positions mean there's still time for a rally," he said. "But each day that goes by it gets less likely." Commodity funds hold a large net short position in CBOT wheat and were net sellers on Tuesday, traders said. CBOT soybeans were down 0.1% at $10.61-1/2 a bushel and corn added 0.5% to $4.62 a bushel. Corn and soybeans are under pressure from expectations of a large crop in Brazil, with agribusiness consultancy Datagro this week increasing its forecasts for the country's 2024/2025 crops.

 

But the USDA surprised traders by rating 68% of the U.S. corn crop as good to excellent in its first condition ratings for the 2025 season, well below the average estimate of 73% in a Reuters analyst poll. Prices at 1018 GMT Last Change Pct Move CBOT wheat 534.00 5.50 1.04 CBOT corn 462.00 2.50 0.54 CBOT soy 1061.50 -1.00 -0.09 Paris wheat 203.25 2.00 0.99 Paris maize 198.00 0.00 0.00 Paris rapeseed 487.00 0.50 0.10 WTI crude oil 61.41 0.52 0.85 Euro/dlr 1.13 0.00 0.07 Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per metric ton.


Reuters