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Corn futures down on more favourable U.S. weather outlook
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Black Sea export deal hopes drag wheat to 18-month low
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Brazil raises corn crop estimates
CHICAGO, March 9 (Reuters) - Chicago corn futures hit their lowest price since August on Thursday on a more favourable U.S. crop season weather outlook after predictions that El Nino could arrive by summer.
"There a belief that La Nina is dying and that our growing conditions in the Midwest may be under
El Nino conditions
which are favourable for growth," said Don Roose of U.S. Commodities.
The El Nino phenomenon is a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific, sometimes causing drought or excess rains which can boost crops.
The dip in prices was made worse after Wednesday's monthly U.S. Agriculture Department's (USDA) that estimated a larger domestic supply than expected, he said.
"It's kind of a hangover from yesterday," Roose added. "Technically, we had some selling and that's carried over into today," he added.
Additionally, Brazil's food supply and statistics agency Conab raised its
corn crop estimate
, lessening worries about Argentina's drought-hit harvest.
Wheat hit a new low 18-month low on poor demand for U.S. exports.
Soybeans dipped, hedging earlier gains from a further reduction in estimates for Argentina's drought-ravaged crops.
The U.S. wheat market has been under pressure from Russian export competition and expectations that a wartime grain corridor from Ukraine will be extended beyond this month, increasing available global supplies.
But the Kremlin said on Thursday that "a lot of questions" remain over the Black Sea grain deal.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) touched its lowest since Aug. 19 and was down 1.72% at $6.14-3/4 a bushel, as of 11:10 a.m. CST (1710 GMT).
Wheat hit its lowest since July 2021 and was down 2.47% at $6.70-1/2 a bushel, while soybeans dipped 0.23% to $15.14-1/4 a bushel.
In the soybean market, Argentina's Rosario grains exchange slashed its forecast for the country's 2022/23 harvest on Wednesday, dropping it to the lowest estimated this century and warning of future cuts as the country's key agricultural region battles an ongoing drought.
(Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Elaine Hardcastle)
