NEW YORK, Oct 11 (Reuters) -
Chicago soybean and wheat futures fell on Wednesday, and corn futures firmed as the markets turned their attention to widely-followed U.S. government crop forecasts.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) dropped 19 cents, about 1.5%, to settle at $12.52-1/2 a bushel. At one point, it traded down to $12.51, its lowest level on a continuous chart since Dec. 15, 2021.
Grain traders were adjusting positions ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Oct. 12 Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates
report
. On average, analysts polled by Reuters expect the USDA to trim its forecasts for U.S. soybean and corn production and yields, a move traditionally supportive of prices.
But not all market-watchers are bullish, and some expect the WASDE to show soybean yield and production numbers near the higher end of the range of estimates.
"A number of people are saying it's the best bean crop that's ever been raised," said Clayton Pope, who runs the agriculture risk consultancy Clayton Pope Commodities, in Champaign, Illinois.
He suggested that due to the sometimes-anecdotal reports of a better-than-expected soybean crop, "you have some longs just bailing out of the beans, saying, 'we'll just see what this yield is, I'm not so bullish any more.'"
Demand for U.S. soybeans remains low, but the low prices may mark a turning point. The USDA on Wednesday reported export sales of 121,000 metric tons of soybeans to buyers in China, and another 213,000 tons sold to unknown buyers.
CBOT December wheat prices shed 2-1/2 cents to settle at $5.56 a bushel, the contract's lowest closing prince since Sept. 29. Analysts polled by Reuters expect the October WASDE report to forecast higher wheat ending stocks than projected in September.
Corn prices climbed 2-1/2 cents to settle at $4.88 a bushel, a hair above the 50-day moving average. (Reporting by Zachary Goelman in New York City, additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra; editnig by Diane Craft)
