Strong US yield potential continued to undermine wheat futures on Thursday, while both corn and soybeans ended higher on rising weather worries.
A crop tour assessing the American spring wheat crop pegged the average expected wheat yield from fields in north-central and northwestern North Dakota at 53.7 bu/acre. Yesterday, the same tour estimated spring wheat yields in southern and east-central North Dakota at 52.5 bu/acre. Meanwhile, the USDA has estimated the 2024 average spring wheat yield at 51.8 bu/acre. The USDA’s weekly export sales report showed bookings of American wheat for the week ended July 18 at 309,319 tonnes, on the low end of expectations. September Chicago wheat lost 9 ¼ cents to $5.37 ¾, September Kansas City dropped 6 cents to $5.61 ½, and September Minneapolis was down 7 cents at $6.03 ¾.
A warmer and drier outlook for early August in the Midwest, which could trim yields, offered some support to soybeans. Weekly export sales were mixed, with old-crop bookings of just 88,649 tonnes below expectations at a 21-week low. New-crop bookings of 829,675 were at the high end of trade guesses. August beans were up a nickel at $11.16, and November climbed 15 ½ cents to $10.79 ½.
Corn also gained on the drier forecast for early August. Old-crop sales of 829,675 tonnes were at the low end of trade expectations, while new-crop bookings of 745,193 tonnes topped expectations. September corn was 2 ¼ cents higher at $4.06, and December was up 2 ¾ cents at $4.20 ¾.
