PARIS/BEIJING, April 1 (Reuters): Chicago soybeans fell for a second day on Friday to hit a one-month low after a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecast of record US soy acreage pressured the market.
Corn was little changed after the previous day's rise as the market weighed the USDA's lower-than-expected projection of US corn planting against weakness in crude oil.
Wheat rose, helped by a lower-than-expected USDA estimate of spring wheat seedings and uncertainty over the course of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, both major grain exporters.
The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.6 per cent at $16.09 per bushel by 1112 GMT. It earlier hit its lowest since February 25 but held above the $16 chart threshold.
The USDA projected that US farmers would plant the most soybean acres on record this spring while reducing corn acreage to a level below a range of analyst estimates.
"The pronounced shift in acreage from corn to soybeans is probably due to the sharp rise in fertilizer prices," Commerzbank said.
Soybeans require less fertilizer than corn, making the oilseed more attractive to farmers as high costs and tight supply of fertilizer have been exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine.
Soybeans also faced pressure from a slide in crude oil on Thursday after the United States announced a record release of its strategic oil reserves to curb high fuel prices. The slide in crude oil also capped corn prices. Like soybean oil, corn is widely used in biofuels.
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