Grain futures mixed, corn at a one-week low amid favorable weather conditions

Grain futures were mixed on Thursday with wheat advancing, while soybeans declined and corn hit a one-week low.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, corn futures for September delivery traded at $5.3425 a bushel at 11:23 GMT, down 0.73% on the day. Prices held in range between days high at $5.3663 and low of $5.3313 a bushel, lowest level since July 8. The grain plunged more than 1% on Wednesday, extending this weeks decline to 1.8% after advancing 3.3% the previous one.

Corn dropped amid favorable weather conditions forecast for crop developing in the U.S. Midwest, easing concern over crop prospects in the worlds biggest grower. According to AccuWeather.com, a thunderstorm is expected to move through the Corn Belt, delivering near-normal for the season rain.

The USDA said in its weekly crop progress report that corn silking fell far behind last year’s pace, standing at 16% as of July 14. That was above the preceding week’s 6%, but well below last year’s 67% during the comparable week and the five-year average reading of 35%.

According to the Ohio State University Extension website, silking is part of the pollination stage when yield is vulnerable to drought and high-temperature stress.

As for the corn crop condition, crop quality in the week ending July 14 was far better than last year’s, but worsened compared to the preceding week. As of July 14, 9% of the crop was categorized as “Very poor” and “Poor”, 25% as “Fair” and 66% was rated good-excellent. During the preceding week, 8% of the crop fell in the “Very poor” and “Poor” categories, 24% in “Fair” and the remaining 68% were rated as “Good” and “Excellent”.

Michael Pitts, a commodity sales director at National Australia Bank Ltd., said for Bloomberg yesterday: “There’s certainly been a potential improvement in forecasts over the last 24 hours, particularly in the drier parts of the U.S. western Corn Belt. If that comes to a fruition, and we don’t get any heat, then that should push us most of the way through the most dangerous part of the corn season.

Soybeans decline as well

Soybeans also declined on Thursday amid favorable weather conditions, which boosted crop prospects. The oilseed fell as weather forecasting models pointed at cooler and wetter weather across the Farm Belt next week.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, soybeans for August delivery traded at $14.7225 a bushel at 11:27 GMT, down 0.32% on the day. Prices held in range between daily high and low of $14.7738 and $14.7025 a bushel respectively. The oilseed settled more than 0.2% higher yesterday, extending this weeks advance to over 3% after marking a minor 0.28% decline the preceding one.

The USDA said in its weekly crop progress report that soybeans blooming advanced last week, but still fell behind the previous year’s pace. As of July 14, 26% of soybeans plants had bloomed, compared to 10% during the preceding week. This however was well below 2012′s 63% reading and the five-year average of 40%.

As for the crop condition, soybeans quality is a lot better this year, but has worsened compared to the previous week. As of July 14, 8% of the crop was categorized as “Very poor” and “Poor”, compared to 7% in the previous week and 30% a year earlier. Meanwhile, 27% of soybeans fell in the “Fair” category, 1% higher than the prior week and below last year’s 36%. As for the premium quality, 65% was rated good-excellent, below the preceding week’s 67% and well above 2012′s 34%.

Wheat gains

Meanwhile, wheat futures gained 0.23% by 11:18 GMT. The September contract traded at $6.6613 a bushel, varying between daily high and low at $6.6713 and $6.6213 a bushel respectively. The grain, which is the fourth biggest U.S. crop behind corn, soybeans and hay, tumbled 0.6% on Wednesday, increasing this weeks decline to over 2.1% after it settled 3.2% higher the last one.
The USDA said in its weekly crop progress report on Monday that as of July 14, 67% of the winter wheat was harvested, compared to 57% in the preceding week, but below last year’s 81% and the five year average reading of 71%.

As for the spring wheat crop, 71% of the crop was headed as of July 14, well above the preceding week’s 45% and nearing the five-year average 73%. During the comparable week last year, 93% of the wheat was headed.

Spring wheat condition was overall better than the 2012 season, but slightly worse compared to the preceding week. As of July 14, 5% of the crop was rated very poor-poor, the same like the previous week, but below last year’s 8%. Meanwhile, 25% was categorized as “Fair”, compared to 23% in the preceding week and 27% in 2012. As for the premium quality, 70% of the crop was rated as good-excellent in the week ending July 14, compared to 72% in the preceding one and 65% a year earlier.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week U.S. wheat reserves will total 576 million bushels at the end of the current marketing year on May 31, down from previous month’s estimate at 659 million bushels.