Forexpros – Corn futures slumped to a one-week low on Thursday, as favorable weather in the U.S. eased concerns over deteriorating crop conditions, while worries over a slowdown in Chinese demand also weighed.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, corn futures for September delivery traded at USD6.8362 a bushel during European morning trade, shedding 0.55%.
It earlier fell as much as 0.9% to trade at USD6.7925 a bushel, the lowest price since July 14.
Industry weather group Global Weather Monitoring said on Wednesday that as much as 0.75 inches (1.9 centimeters) of rain was expected to fall over key corn growing regions in Nebraska and Iowa over the weekend, potentially boosting yields and upgrading the quality of the harvest.
The weather group added that a heat wave that had gripped the U.S. Midwest over the past week was expected to moderate starting July 23, easing worries about heat-reduced crop yields.
The U.S. is both the world’s largest corn producing nation and the world’s largest exporter of the grain.
Meanwhile, the Markit/HSBC Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to a 28-month low of 48.9 in July, indicating activity was now beginning to contract in the world’s second largest corn consumer.
The downbeat data weighed on future demand expectations from the largest importer of U.S. supplies.
Strength in the U.S. dollar also pressured corn prices, as the dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against of six other major currencies was up 0.21% to trade at 75.28.
A stronger dollar reduces the appeal of U.S. crops to overseas buyers and makes commodities less attractive as an alternative investment.
Elsewhere on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, wheat for September delivery eased down 0.05% to trade USD6.9625 a bushel, while soybeans for August delivery added 0.05% to trade at USD13.7950 a bushel.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at USD66.7 billion in 2010, followed by soybeans at USD38.9 billion, government figures show. Wheat was fourth at USD13 billion, behind hay.
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