US corn futures fell 2 percent to a four-year low on Monday with all months notching contract lows as ideal weather in the heart of the Midwest signalled a bumper harvest, traders said. Soyabeans were also sharply lower, with wheat following suit.
At the Chicago Board of Trade at 12:05 pm CDT (1705 GMT), benchmark December corn was down 7-1/2 cents at $3.71 a bushel after falling to $3.70-1/2, below the previous contract low of $3.78. September hit $3.63, the lowest spot price since August 1, 2010. "The majority of today's trade remains focused on the near-perfect growing conditions for the US crops," said Karl Setzer, market analyst at the MaxYield Cooperative in West Bend, Iowa. "While we are seeing elevated temperatures in the Midwest today and tomorrow, conditions moderate considerably by the weekend."
Analysts expect the US Department of Agriculture's weekly crop progress report due later on Monday to show 76 percent of the corn crop in good to excellent condition, unchanged from the previous week. Soyabean ratings were also seen holding steady at 72 percent good-to-excellent. In soyabeans, the benchmark November contract was down 16-1/4 cents at $10.69 a bushel, falling for a third straight session and nearing its contract low of $10.65.
Front-month August was down 1-3/4 cents at $11.75, underpinned by USDA confirming a sale of 120,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to China for delivery in the 2013/14 crop year that ends August 31. Wheat followed the lower trend, with spot September down 5 cents at $5.27-1/4 a bushel after setting a contract low at $5.23-3/4.
