GRAINS-Chicago Wheat slips as harvest pressure begins; soybeans to gain weekly

Chicago wheat futures retreated on Friday following a rally to cover shorts before the holiday season in the U.S. as harvest pressure in Europe and Black Sea region looms.

As of 0211 GMT the most-active contract for wheat fell 0.59%, to $5.87 per bushel. However, it remains close to a four-month-high and is expected to gain weekly.

Wheat gained some support during the previous trading day, as weather concerns in certain parts of the U.S.A. and Europe led speculators in those regions to cover their short positions.

Ole Houe is the head of advisory services for IKON Commodities, Sydney. He said: "We believe that the majority of the rally in the last week will be given back due to the harvest pressures just about to arrive in EU and Black Sea."

Soybeans increased 0.02% per bushel to $10.75 and are on track for their third consecutive weekly increase.

The strength in the energy markets this week has been attributed to increased tensions between Israel, Iran and other countries. This has helped agricultural commodities such as corn and soybeans. The higher crude oil prices make corn and soyoil more attractive as feedstocks for biofuels.

Corn prices are hovering around their lowest levels since 2025, as they dropped 0.17%. Corn prices are expected to drop at the end of this week.

Houe stated that "Corn has held the line, as there are no real updates and the Israel attack is not enough to maintain any enthusiasm when faced with a 400,000,000 metric tons U.S. Corn crop."

The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange reported on Thursday that corn yields in Argentina are exceeding initial expectations for the 2024/25 harvest, but it kept its overall forecast of 49 million metric tonnes as excessive rains slowed down fieldwork.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will release its weekly report on export sales later this Friday.

(source: Reuters)