Grain trade choppy as US crop tour results are awaited

Chicago soybean and corn contracts were up and down Monday, as traders awaited results from this week's Pro Farmer crop tours in the U.S. Midwest.

Technical selling also pushed wheat futures lower, but a rise in export demand provided some support. The tour will measure corn yields in seven U.S. States and assess soybean production potential, following forecasts last week by the U.S. Agriculture Department of a record U.S. crop.

Corn futures were also affected by the expectation that the closely watched tour would show a large U.S. harvest.

Chicago Board of Trade's most active corn futures rose 1/4 cents to $4.05-1/4 a bushel at 11 a.m. CST (1600 GMT). The most-active soybeans rose 2-1/4 cents, to $10.44-3/4 per bushel.

Trade tensions between China and the U.S. continued to affect corn and soy futures. U.S. president Donald Trump urged China last week to quadruple their soybean purchases. However, news about progress in U.S. - China trade talks was lacking, and U.S. soybean producers are missing out on China's sales.

Last, wheat was down by 2 cents a bushel to $5.25.

Jack Scoville Vice president of Price Futures Group said, "I do not think wheat will go up or down very much." "We will keep an eye on the situation in the Black Sea but it is still unclear at the moment." Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said Monday that he is ready to do whatever it takes to end the conflict with Russia before he meets with Donald Trump in Washington. He could be pressured to accept favorable terms for Moscow. The European leaders are at the White House in preparation for the meeting.

Ukraine and Russia are the two largest grain exporters. Heather Schlitz reported from Chicago. Michael Hogan contributed additional reporting from Hamburg; Ella Cao, Lewis Jackson, and Rod Nickel in Beijing.

(source: Reuters)