CHICAGO - Following are U.S. trade expectations for the opening of grain and soy complex trading at the Chicago Board of Trade at 8:30 a.m. CDT (1330 GMT) on Thursday.
NOTE: Traders await the U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual planting intentions and quarterly grain stocks reports due at 11 a.m. CDT/1600 GMT. Analysts polled by Reuters expected increased U.S. sowings of corn and soybeans.
WHEAT - Down 1 to 2 cents per bushel
Lower on follow-through weakness a day after the May contract tumbled 2.7 percent on technical selling and some forecasts for better April rains in the southern U.S. Plains. Traders also positioning for USDA's plantings and stocks report, in which the government is expected to show the largest U.S. March 1 wheat stocks since 2011.
ADVERTISEMENT
* Softening U.S. dollar may lend underlying support.
* USDA reported export sales of U.S. wheat in the week to March 24 at 317,100 tonnes of old-crop, towards the high end of trade expectations, and 85,600 tonnes of new-crop wheat.
* Russia's Agriculture Ministry will keep wheat prices unchanged for its restocking program in the 2016/17 marketing year.
* CBOT May soft red winter wheat last down 3/4 cent at $4.63-1/4 per bushel; K.C. May hard red winter wheat down 1/4 cent at $4.65-1/2; MGEX May spring wheat last down 1/4 cent at $5.15.
CORN - Steady to down 1 cent per bushel
Steady to weaker ahead the USDA's plantings and quarterly stocks reports, and a day after the May contract fell 1.6 percent on farmer selling and spillover pressure from wheat.
* The CBOT May contract on Wednesday fell back below its 100- and 50-day moving averages.
ADVERTISEMENT
* Analysts expect the USDA later on Thursday to report the largest U.S. March 1 corn stocks since 1987.
* The USDA reported export sales of U.S. corn in the week to March 24 at 790,600 tonnes for 2015/16, below trade expectations, and 69,600 tonnes for 2016/17.
* CBOT May corn last down 3/4 cent at $3.66-1/4 per bushel.
SOYBEANS - Mixed, up 1 cent per bushel to down 1 cent
Choppy as traders await USDA's plantings and stocks reports. Analysts expect the government to show the largest March 1 soybean stocks since 2007, and an expansion in soybean plantings compared to last year. Meanwhile, disappointing weekly export sales may pressure the market.
* USDA reported export sales of U.S. soybeans in the week to March 24 at 271,500 tonnes of old-crop, below trade expectations, and 90,000 tonnes of new-crop soy.
ADVERTISEMENT
* USDA reported weekly export sales of soymeal at 211,600 tonnes for 2015/16 and 200 tonnes for 2016/17, in line with trade expectations.
* USDA reported weekly export sales of soyoil at 18,200 tonnes, all for 2015/16, in line with trade expectations.
* Malaysian palm oil futures fell for a second consecutive day as a stronger ringgit currency dragged the market down, outweighing an improvement in export demand.
* CBOT May soybeans last traded unchanged at $9.09 a bushel.
