Wheat and corn fell, soybeans rose in Chicago on Thursday

On Thursday, August 24, 2023, Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CBOT) wheat futures on weak US wheat demand. As a result of the trading day, December quotations of soft winter wheat on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CBOT fell to $232.12 per ton, December futures of hard winter wheat KCBT in Kansas City - to $280.17 per ton, December futures of hard spring wheat MGEX - to $293, 67 per ton.

Chicago soybean futures rose for a second straight session on Thursday, helped by strong exports and supply uncertainty as hot, dry weather creates uncertainty over the outlook for the US crop.

Corn prices eased slightly as the market priced in the results of the Pro Farmer agricultural tour this week.

Wheat prices eased as traders weighed in on strong global supplies and weak demand for US wheat.

November soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) added 11-1/4 cents to $13.71-3/4 a bushel. December CBOT corn fell 2-1/4 cents to $4.88-1/4 a bushel, December wheat lost 8 cents to $6.31-3/4 a bushel.

Analysts note that soybeans are especially sensitive to extreme temperatures this week and lack of rainfall over the next few weeks, even with moderate temperatures.

For the week, export sales of soybeans amounted to 1.583 million tons, exceeding analysts' forecasts, which ranged from 550,000 to 1.45 million tons.

Export sales of corn and wheat were within analysts' expectations.

Wheat fell due to the high level of world supplies and the low competitiveness of US wheat. Overall, the supply of wheat from the Black Sea basin remains strong as Russian wheat continues to be exported in bulk.

Advisory firm Agritel on Thursday forecast Russian wheat exports of 49 million tons this season, joining other analysts in anticipating a new record for Russia this season.

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

     wheat (dkbr 2023) - $232.12/t (21,920 rubles/t) - minus 1.25%;
     corn (DKBR 2023) - $192.22/t (18150 RUB/t) - minus 0.46%;
     soybeans (nbr. 2023) - 504.02 USD/t (47,600 RUB/t) - plus 0.83%;
     rice November (Nbr. 2023) - 788.83 USD/t (73,500 RUB/t) - plus 1.80%;
     rapeseed (ICE, Nov. 2023) - 809.90 cad/t (56450 RUB/t) - plus 0.42%.

On Wednesday, the French grain market closed mixed. As a result of the trading day, the December quotations of milling wheat on the Parisian MATIF exchange rose to €244.00 per ton (in dollar terms - up to $264.96). November corn futures fell to €216.00 per ton (in dollar terms to $234.55).

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

     milling wheat (DKBR 2023) - $264.96/t (25020 RUB/t) - plus 0.451%;
     corn (NBR 2023) - $234.55/t (22,150 RUB/t) - minus 0.09%;
     sunflower (Sept. on the SAFEX exchange - 8891.00 zar./t (44820 rubles/t) - minus 0.86%;
     sunflower oil (Aug. Rotterdam, in bulk FOB) - 975.00 USD/t (92080 RUB/t) - 0%.

Reference exchange rates on 08/24/2023:

     RUB 94.4421 = US dollar
     RUB 102.2452 = Euro
     RUB 69.7041 = Canadian dollar
     RUB 50.4051 = 10 South African rand