Corn and soybean futures continued to be weighed down by good US growing conditions on Thursday, while wheat managed modest gains.
Soybeans declined as ideas of strong 2024 US production potential, amid adequate Midwest rainfall and mild temperatures, more than offset good export demand. The USDA this morning reported a private export sale to China of 132,000, the first such sale in three weeks. Meanwhile, the weekly USDA export sales report showed old-crop bookings for the week ended July 25 above trade expectations at 376,398 tonnes. New-crop bookings were in the middle of expectations at 632,134 tonnes. September beans fell 5 ½ cents to $10.09, and November lost 6 cents to $10.16 ½.
Export bookings for corn were mixed, with Midwest weather still the main factor in taking the market lower. Old-crop bookings hit a marketing year low of 167,864 tonnes, while new-crop was on the high side of trade ideas at 710,888 tonnes. September dipped ¾ of a cent to $3.82 and December lost 1 ¼ cents to $3.98 ½.
Wheat drew some support from poor weather for the EU harvest, with showers and thunderstorms back in the forecast after a period of much-needed drier weather earlier this weekend. September Chicago wheat gained 4 ¾ cents to $5.32, September Kansas City was up 5 ½ cents at $5.54 ½, and September Minneapolis was 7 cents higher at $5.88 ½.