Wheat, corn and soybean futures fell on Wednesday

On Thursday, July 27, 2023, wheat futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CBOT) fell on improving weather forecasts in the United States. As a result of the trading day, September quotations of soft winter wheat on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CBOT fell to $261.895 per ton, September futures of hard winter wheat KCBT in Kansas City rose to $318.38 per ton, September futures of hard spring wheat MGEX rose to $332.25 per ton. ton.

Soybean and grain futures edged lower in Chicago on Thursday as investors began to reduce risk amid signs that hot weather in the US Midwest this week may be short-lived. Soybean and corn futures traded erraticly as the US dollar rose. Soybeans plummeted as traders ignored a USDA report that US soybeans were sold to unknown destinations.

Wheat futures also had a tough session, traders said, as market participants waited for a clearer picture of global grain exports from the Black Sea. But it was the weather forecast in the Midwest, which caused volatility in the grain market, that most affected prices on Thursday, traders say.

Several weather forecasters are forecasting better harvest weather as US corn pollination, a key yield-determining growth stage, is completed as soybeans approach pod set in August.

Meanwhile, scouts on the second day of the annual U.S. wheat crop tour late Tuesday night say spring wheat in northwest and north-central North Dakota will yield lower yields than last year, but more than an average of five years. “Everyone is talking about the heat, but the yields of some soft red wheat varieties are going to be phenomenal,” said Brian Burke, president of trading firm John Stewart & Associates.

September wheat futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CBOT) fell 7-1/4 cents to $7.12-3/4 a bushel. December corn fell 6 cents to $5.42-1/4 a bushel, while November soybeans fell 22 cents to $13.98 a bushel.

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CBOT) on Thursday, contracts for delivery in September, November, December:

wheat (September 2023) - 261.89 dollars / t (23580 rubles / t) - minus 1.01%;
corn (DKBR 2023) - $213.48/t (19220 RUB/t) - minus 1.10%;
soybeans (nbr. 2023) - 513.67 dollars / t (46250 rubles / t) - minus 1.55%;
Rice raw (September 2023) - 773.64 USD / t (69660 RUB / t) - minus 0.35%;
rapeseed (ICE, Nov. 2023) - 823.50 cad/t (56250 RUB/t) - minus 0.88%.

Agritel forecasts soft wheat crop in France, the main producer in the EU, at 34.82 million tons, compared to 33.69 million tons last year. This is 1.3% above the average for the last five years. The yield of French wheat could reach 73 centners per hectare, which is 1.4% more than the average for a sown area of 4.77 million hectares.

On Thursday, the French grain market closed mixed. As a result of the trading day, the September quotes of milling wheat on the Parisian MATIF exchange fell to €251.50 per ton (in dollar terms - to $275.97). November futures for corn rose slightly to €243.25 per ton (in dollar terms, they fell to $266.92).

On the Paris Stock Exchange (MATIF) on Thursday, the quotes for the August and September contracts at the close of trading amounted to:

milling wheat (Sept. 2023) - 275.97 USD/t (24850 RUB/t) - minus 1.77%;
corn (NBR 2023) - 266.92 USD/t (24040 RUB/t) - minus 0.89%;
sunflower (Aug. on the SAFEX exchange - 9224 zar. / t (47060 rubles / t) - minus 2.71%;
sunflower oil. (July, over-the-counter index NTB SOEXP) - 815.68 USD/t (73450 RUR/t) - plus 0.5944%.

Reference exchange rates on 07/27/2023:
RUB 90.0468 = US dollar
RUB 99.7156 = Euro
RUB 68.3001 = Canadian dollar
RUB 51.0215 = 10 South African rand