The weakness in corn spilled over into the wheat market, which had started the day firm due to signs of rising demand. Private analytics firm Informa Economics raised its 2013 US corn acreage forecast to 99.026 million acres, which would be the most since 1936. The raised acreage view came despite sluggish demand for corn from importers and ethanol producers.
"That is definitely what we are keying off of," said Brian Hoops, president of Midwest Market Solutions. "We were unable to sustain any of these gains after the Informa numbers that came out today weighed on our markets." CBOT March corn settled down 17 cents at $7.03 a bushel. New-crop December corn was down 9-1/2 cents at $6.13-1/2 a bushel, hitting a one-month low during the session.
CBOT March wheat which traded as high as $8.22-3/4 a bushel early in the session, ended down 5-1/2 cents lower at $8.05-3/4 a bushel and dropped below the 200-day moving average. Soyabeans fell for the second consecutive session, extending declines spurred by China's cancellation of purchases of US supplies.
CBOT January soyabeans fell 29 cents to $14.37 a bushel. The contract slipped below its 30-day moving average. "Soyabeans are still suffering from the impact of signs that demand is fading as illustrated by China's cancelled purchases on Tuesday," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. China, the world's largest consumer of soyabeans, cancelled a contract to purchase 300,000 tonnes of US supplies, the US Agriculture Department said on Tuesday, adding that another 120,000 tonnes sold to unknown destinations - which traders believe are buyers from China - were also scrapped.
Egypt's GASC, the government's wheat buyer, said on Wednesday morning it bought 180,000 tonnes of US soft red winter wheat as part of a tender announced on Tuesday afternoon. Separately, the US Agriculture Department said that private exporters reported the sale of 110,000 tonnes of US hard red winter wheat to Egypt.
"US wheat has become more competitive into wider markets," said Rabobank analyst Graydon Chong. "It is starting to work into places like Egypt." In US cents, benchmark contracts, except EU wheat (euros) and soyameal (dollars). CBOT wheat, corn and soyabeans per bushel, rice per hundredweight, soyameal per ton and soyaoil per lb.