By Mark Weinraub
CHICAGO, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Chicago Board of Trade winter wheat futures fell 1.7% on Wednesday as forecasts for mild temperatures and some rain in key growing areas raised hopes that the crop will be in good condition before it heads into dormancy, traders said.
“U.S. weather for wheat looks pretty good,” said Terry Reilly, senior commodity analyst at Futures International. “The warmer temperatures are expected to maybe give wheat conditions a bit of a boost.”
Corn and soybean futures firmed, recovering from overnight weakness after the U.S. Agriculture Department announced fresh export deals for both commodities.
Private exporters reported sales of 130,000 tonnes of soybeans to China, the fifth trading day in a row a flash sale of the oilseed was announced, and 1.844 million tonnes of corn to Mexico. GRA/TEND
The impact of Mexico’s deal was limited as the top buyer of U.S. corn typically makes a big purchase of U.S. corn in December.
Chicago Board of Trade March soybean futures SF2 ended up 10-3/4 cents at $12.61 a bushel. CBOT March corn CH2 was 1-1/4 cents higher at $5.87-1/4 a bushel.
Expectations for a bumper crop of both commodities in South America kept the gains in check. Forecasts have pointed to improved growing weather in recent days, but parts of southern Brazil remained dry.
Grain markets were cautious a day ahead of the USDA’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report.
Corn and soybean markets are also assessing Tuesday’s announcement by the U.S. government of plans to scale back the amount of biofuels that oil refiners were required to blend.
The wheat market is watching for an update on Australia’s harvest, with hopes that a drier spell in the coming week will avert further quality damage.
CBOT March soft red winter wheat futures WH2 were down 14 cents at $7.94-1/2 a bushel.
(Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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