By Victoria Sizemore Long –
Kansas City wheat and Chicago wheat and soybean futures closed higher Tuesday in a technical rebound from recent losses.
Chicago corn futures declined.
Kansas City Value Line stock-index futures also fell.
Wheat futures got a boost partly from a technical recovery after recent price declines. There was little fresh fundamental news to influence the market and traders said wheat export business was routine. South Korea set a tender for today to buy 21,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat. But Egypt, generally a regular customer of the United States, purchased 50,000 metric tons of wheat from Syria.
But some support to U.S. wheat futures came from potential problems with India’s wheat crop. Traders said unseasonable rains in key wheat-growing northern Indian states this week have damaged the country’s wheat crop and could reduce output.
Corn futures turned lower after early advances. The early gains came as the market recovered from recent losses. Prices had fallen for several days following a sharp run-up in the market the past couple weeks. The late drop in corn was a continuation of the market setback from the recent advances.
Meanwhile, fresh export business limited the decline. Taiwan overnight Monday purchased 56,000 metric tons of U.S. corn and South Korea purchased 52,500 metric tons of U.S. corn.
Soybean futures were helped by a technical recovery from the recent sharp slide. The recent slide has been mostly technical in nature and came after a sharp run-up in prices. Those higher prices came partly because of reduced soybean output in South America, a key soybean-growing competitor of the United States.
Drought in key growing areas in South America has affected that country’s soybean production this year. Meteorologists said rains this weekend in Rio Grande do Sul, Parana and southern Mato Grasso came too late to help crops there and major losses are expected in those areas.
To reach Victoria Sizemore Long, call (816) 234-4374, or e-mail vlong@kcstar.com.
Source: Kansas City Star
Comments are closed.