* Traders await monthly crop report due at 1600 GMT Thursday
* USDA expected to trim US corn carryout, analysts say
* Russian strikes on Odesa region keep attention on war
risks
CHICAGO, April 10 (Reuters) – Chicago Board of Trade
corn futures edged higher on Wednesday ahead of a U.S.
Department of Agriculture crop report on Thursday that is
expected to show a decline in domestic ending stocks.
Traders adjusted positions before the release of USDA’s
monthly global supply/demand data and Brazilian agency Conab’s
national crop forecasts on Thursday. Traders are also monitoring
conditions for U.S. corn and soy plantings that are expected to
accelerate in the coming weeks.
The USDA report is projected to show 2023-24 U.S. corn
ending stocks fell to 2.102 billion bushels from 2.172 billion
last month, according to a Reuters survey of analysts. They
predicted wheat and soybean stocks will rise.
“The main feature of the market will continue to be
positioning for tomorrow’s USDA reports,” said Tomm
Pfitzenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage.
Most-active CBOT corn was up 1-3/4 cents at $4.33 a
bushel by 12:30 p.m. CDT (1730 GMT), while soybeans fell
9-1/2 cents to $11.65 a bushel. CBOT wheat was down 3/4
cent at $5.57 a bushel, while K.C. wheat jumped 14-3/4
cents to $5.92 a bushel.
Concerns about dryness in the U.S. southern Plains wheat
belt helped to boost K.C. wheat futures, said Matt Wiegand,
commodity broker for FuturesOne. He noted stronger gains in
nearby contracts compared to deferred futures.
“The rains have disappointed a little bit here lately,”
Wiegand said.
Russian strikes on southern Ukraine encouraged light
short-covering in wheat earlier, traders said. Both countries
are major grain exporters. Rallies were capped by a jump in the
dollar, which tends to make U.S. grains look less
competitive globally, analysts said.
The USDA confirmed private sales of 254,000 metric tons of
U.S. soybeans for delivery to undisclosed destinations in the
marketing year that will begin on Sept. 1, 2024. The department
is scheduledto issue weekly U.S. grain and soybean export sales
data on Thursday.
(Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago; Additional reporting by
Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by
Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Varun H K, Vijay Kishore and Barbara
Lewis)
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