By Michael Hirtzer
CHICAGO, June 10 (Reuters) – U.S. wheat futures tumbled more
than 3 percent on Wednesday, on pace for their largest losses in
two weeks, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a monthly
supply and demand report boosted its production forecast for the
winter wheat crop.
Corn futures also were lower at the Chicago Board of Trade,
pressured by plentiful domestic and global grain supplies, while
soybean futures were narrowly mixed.
Most-active CBOT July wheat revered from an earlier
two-month high, notching an ‘outside day’ on the charts that
could signal a near-term high. The contract was 17-1/2 cents
lower at $5.14-3/4 per bushel as of 11:45 a.m. CDT (1645 GMT),
extending losses posted following the release of the report 45
minutes earlier.
Euronext milling wheat futures also fell sharply
even as scouts on a crop tour in France predicted dry weather
could reduce yields in the European Union’s top producer.
USDA forecast winter wheat production at 1.505 billion
bushels, up 33 million bushels from the outlook it issued last
month.
However, rainfall that helped boost production in the
southern U.S. Plains also caused isolated flooding and crop
damage. The harvest is just getting under way and overall
quality of the crop will not be determined for weeks, analysts
say.
Prices for wheat jumped this week on prospects for more
showers during the next 10 days that could further damage wheat
fields.
“The wheat numbers were high, and we are seeing some of the
buying come out of the market. There is some damage (of U.S.
wheat) out there, but they (USDA) wouldn’t have had a chance to
get that into the report,” said Price Futures Group analyst Jack
Scoville.
USDA lowered its soybean supply outlook for the 2015/16 crop
year due to increased domestic usage and raised its view of corn
supplies due to lower ethanol production.
The government on June 30 will issue its annual acreage
report: how much corn, soybeans, spring wheat and other crops
were seeded this spring. That release typically results in more
volatile swings in futures prices than the more routine monthly
supply reports.
CBOT July corn was down 6-1/4 cents to $3.58-3/4 per
bushel and CBOT July soybeans were 1/4 cent lower at
$9.51-1/4.
(Additional reporting by Mark Weinraub in Washington, Michael
Hogan in Hamburg and Manolo Serapio Jr. in Singapore; Editing by
David Holmes and James Dalgleish)