Chicago soybeans and corn eased on Wednesday as traders squared positions ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s global supply and demand report due on Friday.

Analysts expect the agency to trim U.S. soybean and corn yield forecasts, though production is still projected to remain large.

In its previous outlook, the USDA pegged corn output at a record high and soybean harvests at bumper levels.

On the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the most active soybean contract ZS1! slipped 0.41% to $10.27 per bushel as of 1030 GMT, with a lack of demand from top buyer China continuing to weigh on the market.

U.S. farmers are missing out on billions of dollars in soybean sales to China halfway through their prime marketing season, as stalled trade talks halt exports and rival South American suppliers step in to fill the gap, traders and analysts said.

In Brazil, the world’s top soybean producer, soy exports are seen at 7.43 million tons in September, up from 6.75 million metric tons a week earlier, according to Brazil’s grain exporters’ association Anec.

Corn ZC1! dropped 0.48% to $4.17-3/4 a bushel, pressured by favourable U.S. harvest weather, with forecasts for mostly clear weather around the U.S. Midwest set to accelerate fieldwork this week.

Wheat ZW1! was down 0.2% at $5.19-1/4 a bushel.

In Russia, the world’s biggest wheat supplier, export prices continued to decline last week as some farmers stepped up harvest sales.

Canadian stocks of wheat and canola were down at the end of July compared to the same date in 2024, due to increased export demand, according to a Statistics Canada survey.

Friday’s USDA report is expected to show a slight decrease in U.S. wheat ending stocks, while world wheat stocks are forecast to rise, according to a Reuters analyst poll.
Source: Reuters