March 28, 2024

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Shortage of base metals pushes aluminum to 13-year highs;  Copper gains 1% by Reuters

Corn and soybean futures extended gains ahead of a USDA report by Reuters

© Reuters. File photo of a harvester walking over ears of soft red winter wheat during harvest on a farm in Dixon, Illinois, USA. July 16, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Young/File

By PJ Huffstutter

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Cash and futures extended gains on Wednesday, as traders adjusted positions ahead of a key government report on planting and harvesting, traders said.

* However, the most active and delayed corn contracts were lower as traders expect the USDA to raise its estimate for domestic corn cultivation in Thursday’s acreage and inventories report.

* Analysts also expect the USDA to cut estimates of soybean acreage and spring.

* To today’s volatility was added that investors dumped July contracts before first notice, the first date users are notified to waive contracted grain delivery, said Karl Setzer, AgriVisor Commodity risk analyst.

* “Tomorrow is a very important day, with the USDA report and first notice, as well as the end of the month and the end of the quarter,” Setzer said. This is the reason why corn prices rose for the month of July, and the rest of the contracts are trading lower.

– The most active corn contract on the Chicago Stock Exchange was down 4.25 cents at $6.55 a bushel by 1503 GMT. The July contract was up 10.5 cents at $7.70 a bushel.

* The most active soybean contract rose 9.75 cents to $14.7225 a bushel.

Meanwhile, Chicago wheat futures fell after agricultural consultancy Sovcon on Wednesday raised its forecast for July-June wheat exports from Russia by 300,000 tons to a record 42.6 million tons.

* But traders said that signs of improving demand helped put an end to wheat prices.

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* Jordanian grain buyers bought about 60,000 tons of hard-milled wheat of optional origin in a tender that closed on Tuesday. Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt launched bids to buy wheat.

* The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 3.25 cents at $9.3275 a bushel.

(Reporting by Haley Jo and Dominic Patton in Beijing and Sibel de la Hamide in Paris; Editing in Spanish by Javier Lopez de Lleida)