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Strong purchases by China underpin Chicago corn futures
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Markets more optimistic on Black Sea deal extension
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Caution over recent turmoil in broader financial markets
(Adds latest prices, quotes, changes byline, changes dateline
from previous PARIS/SINGAPORE)
By Cassandra Garrison
CHICAGO, March 16 (Reuters) - Chicago corn futures rose
on Thursday on U.S. export demand, while wheat lost ground as
traders expected a renewal of a Black Sea grain export deal,
analysts said.
Soybeans edged down.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced sales to
China of
641,000 tonnes of U.S. corn, bringing total confirmed sales in the past three days to 1.92 million tonnes. Some traders expect USDA to report sales of another 600,000 tonnes or so of U.S. corn before the week ends.
The USDA also reported weekly export sales for U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat that were in line with expectations.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.4% at $6.29 a bushel by 1030 CDT (1530 GMT). Deferred corn contracts were lower.
CBOT wheat was down 1.57% at $6.92 a bushel and soybeans dipped 0.45% to $14.82-1/2 a bushel. The mood in grains markets was cautious given recent turmoil in broader financial markets in the wake of the collapse of two U.S. banks. Major U.S. stock indexes were trading higher in choppy trade on Thursday, as investors remained nervous about the economic outlook despite the Swiss central bank's lifeline for embattled bank Credit Suisse. "We thought we were going to get a little bit more stability today after we heard about the Swiss bank stepping in. Honestly, since the open, everything's been just a little bit weaker," said Craig Turner, a commodities broker at Daniels Trading.
Traders were more optimistic that a deal to allow grain shipments from Ukraine's Black Sea ports would be extended ahead of a deadline later this week, although questions remained whether the extension would be for 60 or 120 days.
The soybean market continued to weigh drought losses in Argentina against progress in harvesting for what is expected to be a record crop in Brazil. (Reporting by Cassandra Garrison in Chicago, Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Susan Fenton and Paul Simao)
