Corn futures hit a 19-month low on weak US export data, strong crop outlook

U.S. corn futures fell to a 19-month low on Thursday, pressured by disappointing export data and prospects for larger U.S. crops, analysts said.

Soybean futures hit a 10-month low and wheat futures fell more than 2% after the extension of a deal to allow war-torn Ukraine to continue exporting grain through Black Sea ports eased worries about world supplies.

Chicago Board of Trade futures fell 6-1/4 cents to $5.55-1/4 a bushel, after falling to $5.47, the lowest point in a continuous schedule of the most active corn contract since October 2021. But the new December corn crop, which represents the 2023 crop, ended 1-3/4 cents higher at $5.00-3/4 after falling below $5 this week for the first time since late 2021.

July CBOT soybeans fell 3-3/4 cents to $13.33-1/4 a bushel, after falling to $13.23-1/4, the lowest in a row since July 2022. CBOT July wheat ended 13-3/4 cents lower. $6.11-3/4 a bushel.

Corn futures fell to nearly 339,000 tonnes after the US Department of Agriculture’s weekly export report showed a net reduction in sales of US old-crop corn in the week to May 11, due to cancellations by Chinese buyers. Net sales of maize for new crops were 74,000 tonnes.

“Corn and soybean prices continue to add to their recent losses on weak export demand. The bears have momentum and there is no story that can change the story,” Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at StoneX, wrote in a client note.

Meanwhile, the International Grains Council raised its forecast for the global corn harvest in 2023/24 by 9 million tonnes to 1.217 billion tonnes, due to better prospects for production in Brazil and China.

Wheat futures fell this week despite poor crop forecasts at the annual crop round in Kansas, the largest U.S. winter wheat producer. The Wheat Quality Council, in its final estimate Thursday, estimated the average wheat yield in Kansas at 30.0 bushels per acre, the lowest yield since at least 2000. (Nigel Hunt in London and Naveen Tughral in Singapore; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, Chisu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)