Wheat Prices Under Pressure as Corn and Soybeans Rise on Strong Export Demand

Grain and oilseed markets concluded their session on August 21st with mixed results. While wheat prices declined on US exchanges, corn and soybean futures rose due to strong export demand.

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) saw September Soft Red Winter (SRW) wheat futures fall by 0.18% to $250.40 per ton, while Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat in Kansas City declined to $277.87 per ton and spring wheat in Minneapolis dropped to $256.56 per ton.

The wheat market remains under pressure due to slower US export sales, with new-crop wheat sales totaling 7.94 million tons, which is 38% of the USDA's projected exports, compared to 49% at the same point last year.

However, corn prices strengthened, with September futures rising by 1.05% to $190.45 per ton and December futures climbing to $5.085 per bushel after the USDA reported another sale of 205 thousand tons of US corn to unknown destinations.

Soybean futures also ended higher, with the November CBOT contract gaining 0.24% to $455.43 per ton, supported by shipments of 712 thousand tons of new-crop US soybeans to China and forward purchases reaching 11.85 million tons, twice the volume recorded at the same point last season and the highest level in four years.