Wheat pauses after rally as Black Sea supply risks assessed
Updates at 1205 GMT, changes dateline
PARIS/CANBERRA, Oct 3 (Reuters) -Chicago wheat futures edged down on Thursday after this week's surge to a 3-1/2-month high as traders monitored drought in the Black Sea region and signs of possible Russian export caps.
Corn futures held near a three-month peak, underpinned by supply risks in wheat and strength in crude oil against a backdrop of military escalation in the Middle East. O/R
Soybeans eased as weather forecasts predicted rain in top producer Brazil, where dry conditions have slowed planting.
The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Wv1 was down 0.5% at $6.12 a bushel by 1205 GMT after touching $6.17-1/4 on Wednesday for the highest level since mid-June.
Prices are up about 5.5% so far this week.
"Wheat reached some technical resistance levels and some farmers are selling, so we may see a pause," one European trader said. "There was an accumulation of bullish news, with the dryness in Russia becoming dramatic."
In Russia, Oryol became the latest region to declare a state of emergency on Wednesday because of poor sowing weather.
Little rain is forecast in Russian winter wheat zones as farmers try to progress with planting, though other parts of the Black Sea region, such as Ukraine and Romania, have received more significant rainfall.
The Black Sea region has had 20% of its average rainfall and hot temperatures in the second half of summer. More dry weather could severely reduce winter sowing rates and next year's production potential, said Vitor Pistoia, a Rabobank analyst in Sydney.
Dry weather combined with frosts have dented harvest prospects in Australia, wiping more than a million metric tons off analyst production forecasts.
Russia's grain exporters' union, meanwhile, said that recent export volumes were excessive and called for a quota mechanism to limit shipments.
Ukrainian officials said that a Russian drone attack damaged a grain facility near the Danube, underscoring war risks to trade.
CBOT corn Cv1 was down 0.5% at $4.30-1/4 a bushel, having hit $4.34-1/4 in the previous session for its highest since late June. Soybeans Sv1 slipped 1% to $10.45 a bushel.
Prices at 1205 GMT | |||
Last | Change | Pct Move | |
CBOT wheat Wv1 | 612.00 | -3.25 | -0.53 |
CBOT corn Cv1 | 430.25 | -2.25 | -0.52 |
CBOT soy Sv1 | 1045.50 | -10.50 | -0.99 |
Paris wheat BL2Z4 | 232.25 | -1.50 | -0.64 |
Paris maize EMAc1 | 215.75 | -0.50 | -0.23 |
Paris rapeseed COMc1 | 471.75 | -5.50 | -1.15 |
WTI crude oil CLc1 | 71.24 | 1.14 | 1.63 |
Euro/dlr EUR= | 1.10 | 0.00 | -0.03 |
Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per metric ton | |||
Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra
Editing by Alan Barona, Sumana Nandy and David Goodman
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