HAMBURG, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Chicago corn on Monday rose from three-year lows hit last week after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecast a record U.S. corn crop this year.
Chicago Board of Trade most-active corn firmed 0.1% to $4.64-1/2 a bushel at 1156 GMT, close to Friday's low of $461-3/4, which was the lowest since December 2020.
Wheat fell 0.7% to $5.70-3/4 a bushel, soybeans rose 0.5% to $13.54-3/4 a bushel.
Corn slumped last week after a bumper U.S. crop was forecast by the USDA alongside a record harvest expected in Brazil. But there are concerns about dryness delaying Brazilian soybean plantings and stressing corn.
“Corn is being supported by buying interest today after the three-year lows on Friday but with the overall bearish picture still intact after the USDA forecasts of a huge U.S. corn crop,” said Matt Ammermann, StoneX commodity risk manager. “There is also concern about dryness in parts of Brazil, a factor also supporting soybeans.”
“Some more rain is forecast in Brazil but this has been the case for some time with rain failing to materialise.”
Markets are also watching developments with the Ukrainian shipping channel. Overall they expect shipping to continue despite a lack of Russian safety guarantees, and Ukraine still has large volumes of corn to export to world markets, he said.
“China made large purchases of U.S. soybeans last week and with dryness a risk to Brazil’s crop, there is the question about whether China will buy more soybeans from the U.S. this week,” he said. The USDA has also raised its forecast for Russia's wheat harvest.
“Wheat prices are still suffering from the USDA’s forecast of a larger Russian crop," Ammermann said. "Markets will be watching how low Russian wheat prices will be offered in export markets this week or whether Russia’s government’s unofficial minimum export prices will limit drops.” (Reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg, additional reporting by Peter Hobson in Canberra; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Sharon Singleton)
