Wheat, corn and soybeans fell on Friday

On Friday, July 21, 2023, US wheat futures fell sharply in price. As a result of the trading day, September quotations of soft winter wheat on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CBOT fell to $256.28 per ton, September futures of hard winter wheat KCBT in Kansas City - to $316.08 per ton, September futures of hard spring wheat MGEX fell to $325.91 per ton.

Wheat futures on the CBOT have shown an increase of almost 7% this week, despite a sharp decline on Friday. Traders took profits ahead of the weekend amid easing fears about a global supply shortage.

Corn fell sharply and soybeans were mixed, with tight US stocks supporting contracts for the old crop, while improved weather forecasts put pressure on new crop offers. Corn and soybeans posted gains on a weekly basis amid prospects of hot, dry weather in the Midwest's growing regions of those crops. An additional source of pressure on corn quotes could be a new IGC review.

In the monthly report of the International Grains Council (IGC), the estimate of world cereal production in the 2023/24 season was raised by 2% to a record 2.297 billion tons. The forecast was revised against the backdrop of increased acreage under corn and sorghum in the US. Corn production is expected at 1.22 billion tons, 9 million tons more than in June and 64 million tons more than last year. Analysts at IGC also expect a reduction in wheat and barley production by 19 and 9 million tons, respectively.

Major grain importers in the Midwest and North Africa have reacted calmly to reports that the grain deal has ended. "There has certainly been panic buying in global markets this week. Now traders are re-evaluating the data, and given a bountiful harvest in Russia this year and large harvests in France and other EU countries, it is clear that a supply shortage is unlikely," the French trader said.

September CBOT soft red winter wheat futures fell 29-1/2 cents to $6.97 a bushel. November CBOT soybeans fell 3 cents to $14.01-3/4 a bushel and December CBOT corn shed 10 cents to $5.36-1/4 a bushel.

Over the past period of this week, wheat prices rose by 6.9%. Over the past period of this week, corn has risen in price by 3.6%, and soybeans - by 1.3%.

After the start of the rains in Argentina, 71% of the planned planting area was sown under favorable soil moisture conditions, according to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange (BAGE). The improvement comes after a severe drought season that reduced the wheat crop to 12.4 million tonnes. "Optimal sowing" was mainly carried out in the northern and southern agricultural regions. 91.2% of the planned 6 million hectares have already been sown for the 2023/24 season. The exchange is forecasting further rains to help develop next week's wheat crop.

Algerian agricultural areas are suffering from a lack of rainfall for the second year in a row, which will lead to a reduction in wheat and barley production in the 2023/24 season, according to a report by the Global Agricultural Information Network from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). The service of the Ministry of Agriculture estimates the wheat harvest at 2.7 million tons against 3.3 million tons a year earlier, and the barley harvest at 1.02 million tons against 1.4 million tons.

Egyptian Supply Minister Ali Moselhi announced a $100 million deal with the Abu Dhabi Development Fund (ADFD) to finance grain purchases. Agribusiness company Al Dahra will be one of the first grain suppliers under this agreement. The loan will be secured by ADFD's Abu Dhabi Export Office (ADEX), allowing it to be used for other purchases as well.

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

wheat (September 2023) - 256.28 dollars / t (23280 rubles / t) - minus 4.06%;
corn (dkbr 2023) - 211.12 dollars / t (19180 rubles / t) - minus 1.83%;
soybeans (nbr. 2023) - 515.05 dollars / t (46800 rubles / t) - minus 0.21%;
rice raw (September 2023) - 779.03 USD / t (70,780 rubles / t) - plus 0.10%;
rapeseed (ICE, Nov. 2023) - 825.80 cad/t (56,970 RUB/t) - minus 2.04%.

On Friday, the French grain market sank. As a result of the trading day, the September quotations of milling wheat on the Parisian MATIF exchange fell to €247.25 per ton (in dollar terms - to $275.14). November corn futures fell to €237.00 per ton (in dollar terms they rose to $263.73).

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

milling wheat (Sept. 2023) - 275.14 dollars / t (25,000 rubles / t) - minus 3.32%;
corn (NBR 2023) - 263.73 USD/t (23960 RUB/t) - minus 3.07%;
sunflower (July on the SAFEX exchange - 9282 zar. / t (47460 rubles / t) - plus 0.01%;
sunflower oil. (July, over-the-counter index NTB SOEXP) - 817.54 USD/t (74280 RUR/t) - 0%.