Grains - Wheat, corn trade near 6-month lows on demand concerns
Investing.com
Published Dec 27, 2012 05:54AM ET
Investing.com - U.S. grain futures were steady in thin trade during European morning hours on Thursday, with wheat and corn prices holding near the lowest level since July amid concerns over a slowdown in demand for U.S. supplies.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, wheat for March delivery traded at USD7.7562 a bushel, little changed on the day. The March contract fell by as much as 0.4% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD7.7188 a bushel, the weakest level since July 3.
Wheat prices fell nearly 2.5% on Wednesday due to technical selling and poor export demand.
The U.S. Depart of Agriculture said on Wednesday weekly export inspections of wheat totaled 15.128 million bushels, the lowest for the period since 2009. U.S. wheat exports stood at 16.639 million a week ago.
Wheat prices have lost nearly 9.5% since the beginning of December, amid easing concerns over a disruption to global supplies.
The USDA raised its estimate on U.S. wheat ending stocks to 754 million bushels on December 10, up 6.6% from its November projection of 704 million bushels. The upward revision reflected slow pace of U.S. export sales.
Meanwhile, corn futures for March delivery traded at USD6.9388 a bushel, up 0.1% on the day. The March contract was stuck in a tight trading range between USD6.9538 a bushel, the daily high and a session low of USD6.9238 a bushel.
The March CBOT corn contract touched a five-and-a-half month low of USD6.8762 a bushel on December 20, as a bout of technical selling set in after prices broke below the key psychological USD7.00-per-bushel level.
The USDA said Wednesday that corn-export inspections tumbled 66% from a year earlier to 13.475 million bushels.
Corn futures have declined almost 9% in December, as worries over slowing overseas demand for supplies from the U.S. have weighed on sentiment.
Elsewhere, soybeans futures for March delivery traded at USD14.2438 a bushel, up 0.4% on the day. The March contract traded in a range between USD14.1238 a bushel, the daily low and a session high of USD14.2925 a bushel.
The amount of soybeans inspected for export rose 8.3% from a week earlier to 44.5 million bushels, according to the USDA.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.
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Written By: Investing.com
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