GRAINS-Wheat rises on demand from global buyers; corn and soybeans extend losses

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Grains prices retreated from multi-months high on profit taking

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Egypt, Jordan and Japan sought to buy wheat

(Updates prices, adds analyst comment)

JAKARTA, May 8 (Reuters) – Chicago wheat prices rose on Wednesday amid reports of demand from international buyers, while soybeans and corn extended losses to a second straight session as investors gauged the impact of harsh weather in some major production zones.

The grains retreated from multi-months high on profit taking, after supply concern due to volatile weather in top producers fuelled price rallies.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.19% to $6.44 a bushel by 0306 GMT.

Corn lost 0.16% to $4.66-1/4 a bushel, while soybeans lost 0.38% to $12.41-3/4 a bushel.

“There was a lot of profit taking going. Unless we see some real issues around the world we would expect wheat futures to fall back towards $5.50 a bushel again over the next weeks,” said Ole Houe at IKON Commodities in Sydney.

A group of crop experts on Tuesday projected Oklahoma’s 2024 winter wheat harvest at 89.161 million bushels, with an average yield of 33.68 bushels per acre, up from the state’s 2023 harvest of 68.6 million bushels, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Meanwhile, grain export quota for one of Russia’s largest grain trader Rodnie Polya, formerly known as TD RIF, has been reduced by 1.2 million metric tons to 2.78 million tons for the current marketing year amid a row with authorities over phytosanitary issues, a ministry order on Tuesday showed.

Egypt’s state grains buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), is seeking wheat in an international tender for shipment between June 7-17 and/or June 18-28.

Jordan’s state grain buyer expected to issue another international tender for milling wheat European traders said, after the tender to buy 120,000 tons of milling wheat was believed resulted in no purchase.

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) sought to buy a total of 114,077 tons of food-quality wheat from the United States, Canada and Australia in a regular tender that will close late on Thursday.

Soybeans prices also expected to retreat Ole said, as impact of Brazilian flood damaged seen not as severe as previous estimate.

“Latest rally was based on the idea of Brazilian flood damage, when the reality is that most of the crop in the affected areas has already been harvested. Hence we also expect to see soybeans continue to give up ground again,” he said.

Heavy flooding in southern Brazil has hit food storage facilities in lower areas while hampering the shipping of grains to port, jeopardizing the nation’s exports and wreaking havoc to the economy of Rio Grande do Sul state, a large soy, rice, wheat and meat producer.

Brazilian government is preparing a temporary measure to authorize the national crop agency (Conab) to import 1 million tons of rice to control prices after deadly floods in recent days hit many crops in Rio Grande do Sul.

Canadian stocks of wheat, corn and oats were down at the end of March 2024 compared to the same date in 2023, according to a farm survey by Statistics Canada released on Tuesday.

A South Korean animal feed producer has purchased an estimated 68,000 metric tons of animal feed corn to be sourced from South America in an international tender on Tuesday, European traders said.

(Reporting by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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