* CBOT wheat at 3-year low after data show stockpiles above
trade
estimates
* U.S. soybeans supplies at 2-year low but at high end of
forecasts
Sept 29 (Reuters) – Chicago grain and soybean futures
fell sharply on Friday, with wheat hitting a three-year low
after U.S. government data pegged production above analysts’
expectations.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated the
nation’s wheat harvest at 1.812 billion bushels, 78 million
bushels bigger than a previous estimate and significantly above
the average analyst forecast of 1.729 billion bushels in a
Reuters poll.
Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures dropped more than
6% by 12:50 pm CDT (1750 GMT) to $5.42-3/4 a bushel and set the
lowest level since Sept. 28, 2020, on a continuous chart.
Futures also hit life-of-contract lows. K.C. hard red
winter wheat, which hit two-year lows earlier in the
week, continued to fall, trading down 20 cents to $6.65.
“The wheat balance sheets aren’t nearly as tight as had
been indicated,” said Karl Setzer, brokerage research lead for
Mid-Co Commodities.
Wheat prices had already been under pressure from ample
Russian supplies and signals that Ukraine was managing to find
export routes despite Russian attacks on port facilities.
In a separate report, the USDA said U.S. wheat stocks as of
Sept. 1 stood at 1.780 billion bushels, up slightly from 1.778
billion bushels reported a year earlier and reflecting poor
export demand for U.S. supplies. Analysts had been expecting
wheat stocks at a 16-year low of 1.772 billion bushels.
“It is simply another piece of bad news,” said Rich
Nelson, chief strategist for Allendale.
U.S. soybean stocks fell to their lowest in two years,
but were larger than analysts expected. CBOT soybean futures
fell nearly 1.5% to $12.80-3/4 a bushel.
“It’s still an extremely tight number,” said Setzer, “but it
gives us much more of a cushion going forward than what we had.”
CBOT corn futures followed wheat and soybeans lower, trading
down just over 2% at $4.78-1/4 a bushel.
(Reporting by Zachary Goelman in New York; Additional
reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago, Gus Trompiz in Paris and
Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Read More: Commodities : Chicago wheat hits 3-year low, soy and corn drop after US grain