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Ample supply pushes corn, soybeans to lowest level in three yrs

Friday, 16 February 2024



CANBERRA, Feb 15 (Reuters): Chicago soybean futures fell on Thursday to their lowest level since December 2020 as speculators responded to plentiful supply and a strong US dollar by betting on further price drop.
Ample supply also pushed wheat futures lower, while corn hovered near a three-year low reached in the previous session.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.4 per cent at $11.66-1/4 a bushel by 0104 GMT after dropping as low as $11.66.
CBOT corn dropped 0.3 per cent to $4.23 a bushel, having slipped to $4.22 on Wednesday, its lowest since December 2020.
Wheat Wv1 dipped 0.2 per cent to $5.84-1/4 a bushel and was getting closer to last September's three-year low of $5.40.
Soybeans and corn have lost around 10 per cent so far this year and wheat has fallen around 7 per cent.
US grains and soybeans face stiff competition for export business from other suppliers with plentiful cheap stocks, and the U.S. dollar hit a three-month high this week, making US farm products costlier for importers.
Plentiful rains in recent days across Argentina's main growing regions cemented expectations for large corn and soybean harvests there.
Consultants Sovecon raised their 2024 Russian wheat crop estimate by 1.4 million metric tons to 93.6 million tons, which would be a third consecutive bumper harvest in Russia.
Speculative funds hold large net short positions in soybeans, corn and wheat and were net sellers of all three again on Wednesday, traders said.
Analysts project 2024-25 soybean ending stocks at 411 million bushels, up from 315 million bushels in 2023-24, wheat ending stocks at 717 million bushels, up from 658 million in 2023-24, and corn ending stocks at 2.594 billion bushels, up from 2.172 billion in 2023-24.