Corn, wheat, and soybean futures all finished in the red on Friday, with wheat seeing the steepest declines.
The benchmark Chicago wheat market fell below the $6/bu level for the first time since June, with pressure at least partially attributed to reports Egypt – the world’s largest importer – plans to trim its buying on the world market by changing its state-subsidized bread recipes to use more corn and sorghum flour instead of wheat flour. December Chicago closed 13 ¾ cents lower at $5.89 ¾, December Kansas City was down 13 ½ cents at $5.98, and December Minneapolis fell 7 ¾ cents to $6.38 ½.
Corn and soybeans were both pressured by US harvest pressure and forecasts calling for mostly dry, warm Midwest weather over the next 10 days or so, which should further accelerate fieldwork. Weather outlooks for calling for some much-needed rain in drought-plagued portions of central Brazil over the weekend and into early next week added to the downside in corn and soybeans.
December corn lost 3 ½ cents to $4.24 ¾, and March was down 4 ¼ cents at $4.41 ¾. November beans were 8 ¼ cents lower at $10.37 ¾, and January posted an 8 ½-cent loss to $10.56.
