*
Slowing Chinese demand, record Brazilian crop weigh on
soybeans
*
Hopes for better planting weather in U.S. Midwest after
rain
(Adds quote in paragraph 3, updates prices)
By Naveen Thukral
SINGAPORE, April 21 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures
slid on Friday, with the market poised for a weekly decline, as
slowing demand from top importer China and lacklustre U.S.
weekly exports weighed on prices.
Corn was unmoved, on track for its biggest weekly decline in
eight months amid forecasts of favourable weather in the U.S.
Midwest that would allow planting to accelerate.
"Weak export sales due to the record soybean crop from
Brazil helped to pressure (on soybean prices) as Brazil
producers are active sellers and storage is in very tight supply
due the record corn crop expected soon," commodities research
firm Hightower said in a report.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of
Trade (CBOT) gave up 0.3% at $14.63-1/2 a bushel, as of
0348 GMT. Corn was flat at $6.26 a bushel, while wheat rose 0.2% to $6.81-1/4 a bushel.
Soybeans have lost 2.5% this week, after gaining marginally
last week, while corn is down 6%, on track for its biggest
weekly drop since July. Wheat is little changed for the week.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said weekly soybean
export sales totalled 103,000 tonnes, missing estimates.
However, China's soybean imports from the United States rose
43% in March, data showed on Friday, as harvesting delays in top
supplier Brazil prompted buyers to seek more U.S. beans.
Brazilian soybean port premiums have fallen to historical
lows in recent days amid lukewarm Chinese demand while the
country reaps a record crop.
The premiums fell to their lowest point in 19 years,
according to data from Cepea/Esalq, a research center at the
University of Sao Paulo, going as low as -200 basis points per
bushel this week in ports like Paranagua for May shipments,
surprising some by the magnitude of the decline.
Weather in parts of the U.S. Midwest is forecast to turn
drier and warmer, allowing farmers to plant their crops. In the
U.S. southern plains, there are expectations of much-needed
rain, which is likely to improve the condition of the winter
crop.
Inspections of ships carrying Ukrainian grain from Black Sea
ports were expected to continue under a UN-brokered deal, though
Kyiv faces a struggle to secure an extension of the deal with
Moscow.
Russia's foreign minister, however, said that almost nothing
has been done to address Moscow's concerns, when asked about the
future of the Black Sea grains deal.
A European Union plan on Wednesday to permit Ukrainian
grains to continue being transported across five countries in
the east of the bloc for onward export reduced the risk of a
halt to Ukrainian shipments via the EU.
Commodity funds were sellers of CBOT grain and soy futures
contracts on a net basis on Thursday, traders said. (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and
Sohini Goswami)
