Investing.com - U.S. corn futures fell to the lowest level since March on Wednesday, after a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed rapid planting progress in the U.S. Midwest last week.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, U.S. corn for July delivery hit a session low of $4.6688 a bushel earlier in the day, the weakest level since March 4, before trimming losses to trade at $4.6713 a bushel during U.S. morning hours, down 0.44%, or 2.08 cents.
The July corn contract lost 1.73%, or 8.2 cents on Tuesday after the USDA said that nearly 88% of the U.S. corn crop was planted as of May 27, compared to 73% in the preceding week. The five-year average for this time of year is 88%.
Meanwhile, U.S. wheat for July delivery hit a daily low of $6.3575 a bushel, the weakest since March 4, before paring losses to trade at $6.3638, down 0.72%, or 4.62 cents. Wheat ended Tuesday’s session down 1.76%, or 11.4 cents to settle at $6.4100 a bushel.
According to the USDA, 30% of the U.S. winter wheat crop was rated “good” to “excellent” as of last week, up from 29% in the preceding week. Winter-wheat crops in “very poor” to “poor” conditions held steady at 44%.
Meanwhile, nearly 74% of the spring wheat crop was planted as of last week, improving from 49% in the preceding week.
Wheat prices have been on a downward trend ever since the USDA projected higher global supplies than analysts had expected earlier this month.
Elsewhere on the CBOT, U.S. soybeans for July delivery climbed 0.81%, or 12.03 cents to trade at $15.0063 a bushel. The July soybean contract tumbled 1.77%, or 26.6 cents on Tuesday to settle at $14.8860 a bushel.
Approximately 59% of the U.S. soybean crop was planted as of May 18, up from 33% in the preceding week and above the five-year average of 56% for this time of year.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.