CHICAGO: Chicago wheat futures tumbled nearly 3 per cent on Friday, on pace for their biggest daily decline since August, after the US Department of Agriculture showed larger-than-expected US winter wheat plantings.

Corn futures fell to life-of-contract lows, while soybeans turned higher in a recovery from four-month lows in the wake of the midday USDA supply and demand data.

The government raised its estimate for US corn production due to record-large yields and trimmed its estimate for the US soybean harvest, even as that crop remained the biggest ever.

The USDA estimated 2018 winter wheat plantings at 32.608 million acres, the smallest since 1909 but above analysts’ expectations for 30.100 to 32.000 million.

“The biggest thing was the (US) wheat acres being up instead of down,” said Linn & Associates analyst Roy Huckabay. “I’ve got 1.5 million more wheat acres than I thought I had, and that means I’ve got to reduce my new-crop corn and bean acres.”

Chicago Board of Trade March wheat was down 12-1/2 cents at $4.20-3/4 per bushel, its lowest since Dec. 20, at 12:24 p.m. CST (1824 GMT).

CBOT March corn dipped to a contract low of $3.46, down 2-3/4 cents. “We were talking about a (corn) reduction, and we didn’t get it, and so I think that’s why we’re seeing the market sell off,” said Price Futures Group analyst Jack Scoville.

CBOT March soybeans were up 3-1/2 cents at $9.53-1/2 per bushel, rebounding from their session low of $9.44-1/2.

Reuters