Wheat won’t move, rains in Australia and Argentina reduce upside range – today

Chicago wheat was largely unchanged on Monday after hitting its highest level in more than a month last week as rain in Australia and Argentina, two major Southern Hemisphere producers, boosted the supply outlook.

Corn was higher and soybeans fell for the second straight session.

“The weather on the east coast of Australia is very favorable for wheat,” said a Singapore-based trader. “Earlier, there was talk of wheat production of 22 million metric tonnes, but now it is closer to 25.0-25.5 million tonnes.

The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was steady at $5.86 a bushel at 0344 GMT after rising to $6.05 a bushel on Friday, September 15.

Corn added 0.2% to 4.96-1/4 a bushel, while soybeans lost 0.4% to 12.97-3/4.

Recent rains in Australia’s main wheat-producing regions are likely to boost yields, adding millions of tonnes to the drought-hit crop and improving global supply prospects, analysts said.

Heavy rains drenched drought-stricken agricultural areas in Argentina over the weekend, and the National Weather Service said it hoped the South American country would have better conditions for wheat.

As for soybeans, Chinese imports of the oilseed from Brazil rose 23% in September from a year earlier, data showed Friday, as the southern nation—a major producer of the American crop—reached the world’s top buyer this year.

Large speculators increased their net short positions in CBOT corn futures during the week of Oct. 17, according to regulatory data released Friday.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly report on dealer commitment showed that noncommercial dealers, a category that includes hedge funds, reduced their net short positions in the CBOT’s wheat and soybean futures markets. (Reporting by Naveen Tughral; Editing by Subranshu Sahu and Elaine Soreng)