Corn and soybean futures gained on Thursday, while wheat was steady to a bit lower.
Corn touched a 14-month high as traders assessed the potential impact of recent rainfall and forecasts for Argentina, where some production regions are badly in need of moisture. The country is getting scattered rains in the north, but most of it is light and providing little lasting benefit. More rain is to come over the next few days. March gained 5 ½ cents to $4.89 ¾, and December added 4 ¾ cents to $4.64 ¼.
Soybeans were also propelled higher by Argentina weather uncertainty – hovering near a six-month high - with additional support coming from the slow start to the Brazilian harvest due to wet weather. March beans gained 9 ½ cents to $10.65 ½, and November was up 6 ½ cents at $10.53 ¼.
A lack of fresh news kept wheat little changed. There are concerns recent frigid temperatures may have damaged portions of the US winter wheat crop, but it may take until spring for confirmation. Meanwhile, the US is coming out of the deep freeze and will see normal to above normal temps for the next week. March Chicago wheat was steady at $5.54, March Kansas City lost 4 cents to $5.70 ¾, and March Minneapolis eased 2 cents to $6.04 ½.
US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats continue to overhang all the grain markets.
