January 8, 2010

US corn, wheat extend losses on lower crop export sales

Corn and wheat dropped for a second day, trimming their weekly advances after a government report showed tumbling overseas sales by the US, the world's biggest exporter of the crops.

Weekly export sales of US corn fell 53% in the week ended December 31 to 364,700 tonnes, the smallest amount in seven weeks, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. Wheat export sales plunged 75% to 93,432 tonnes in the week, the smallest total since the start of the marketing year on June 1.

Corn for March delivery lost 0.4% to US$4.1575 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade at 11:21 a.m. Tokyo time. The contract has climbed 0.2% this week, gaining for the third straight week.

March-delivery wheat dropped as much as 0.6% to US$5.545 a bushel and traded at US$5.56. The contract yesterday touched US$5.68 a bushel, the highest level since December 4. The grain has risen 2.7% this week, advancing for the second consecutive week.

Through December 31, overseas buyers committed to purchase 16.5 million tonnes of US wheat in the marketing year that began June 1, down 25% from the same period a year earlier, government data show. Actual shipments were down 28% at 12.7 million tonnes.

Soy for March delivery were little changed at US$10.2650 a bushel after losing 3.1% earlier on signs that China, the world's biggest importer of oilseeds, is taking steps to control growth and inflation.

China sold three-month bills yesterday at a higher interest rate for the first time in 19 weeks, after saying it wants to contain a record expansion.