Grain, Soybean Futures Slide on Harvest Pressure

Grain and soybean futures fell on pressure from the ongoing U.S. harvest.

Farmers across in Midwest are starting to collect their corn and soybean crops. While still in early stages, analysts say many farmers are reporting better-than-expected yields.

That weighed down futures on Thursday, despite signs of strong demand for those crops. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that private exporters reported sales of 233,800 metric tons of corn and 132,000 tons of soybeans to what it called unknown destinations for 2017-18.

The USDA also reported on Thursday weekly soybean export sales of 3.1 million metric tons for all marketing years, well above expectations. Corn sales came in below estimates, however, while wheat sales were slightly higher.

Traders were positioning ahead of a quarterly grain stocks report due Friday at noon. Analysts expect to see supplies of corn and soybeans in domestic silos as of Sept. 1 increasing to multiyear highs from the same time in 2016.

November soybean futures fell 0.6% to $9.59 1/2 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade. CBOT December corn futures fell 0.4% to $3.52 1/2 a bushel, while December wheat contracts dropped 1.4% to $4.55 a bushel.

Write to Benjamin Parkin at benjamin.parkin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 28, 2017 15:40 ET (19:40 GMT)