Chicago corn lost more ground on Monday, while soybeans edged higher with market participants taking positions ahead of U.S. supply-demand reports due later this week.
Wheat dropped to its weakest levels in one week amid ample Black Sea supplies, although lower output in Europe limited losses.FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.1% at $4.05-3/4 a bushel, as of 0035 GMT, while soybeans added 0.2% to $10.07-1/4 a bushel.
* Wheat fell 0.2% to $5.65-3/4 a bushel, having dropped earlier in the session to its weakest levels since Sept. 2 at $5.62 a bushel.
* Many traders are waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release its September crop estimates this week before making big moves.
* Some concerns surrounding dry weather in the U.S. Midwest encouraged short-covering in prices last week. Light rain is expected across chunks of the U.S. Midwest, according to a note from the Commodity Weather Group, but it may be too little too late to ensure the soybean crop has enough moisture to reach its yield potential.
* Brazilian soybean farmers could produce 14% more in the 2024/2025 season, compared with the previous one, a Reuters poll of 10 analysts and market institutions showed, as expectations of more rain in the last quarter of the year rise.
* Cheap wheat from Russia and increasing exports from Ukraine have maintained pressure on U.S. wheat futures.
* Still, wheat prices have been supported by poor harvests in Europe, mainly the largest producer France, which is set to yield the smallest volume in more than 40 years.
