Investing.com - U.S. corn and wheat futures both traded at their lowest levels since July 2010 on Wednesday, as ongoing expectations for a record U.S. harvest continued to weigh.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, U.S. corn for September delivery hit a session low of $3.5938 a bushel, the weakest level since July 2010, before turning modestly higher to last trade at $3.6063 during U.S. morning hours, up 0.12%, or 0.42 cents.
The September corn contract lost 1.03%, or 3.6 cents, on Tuesday to end at $3.6020 a bushel.
Corn fell on near-ideal crop weather in the U.S. Midwest that is bolstering expectations for a big harvest this autumn.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said earlier in the month that U.S. corn inventories at the end of August will total 1.246 billion bushels, up 8% from its forecast in June.
According to the agency, nearly 76% of the U.S. corn crop was rated “good” to “excellent” as of last week, the highest rating for this time of year since 2004.
Meanwhile, U.S. wheat for September delivery slumped to a daily low of $5.2163 a bushel, the cheapest level since July 2010, before trimming losses to last trade at $5.2438, down 0.16%, or 0.82cents.
The September wheat contract dropped 1.04%, or 5.4 cents, on Tuesday to settle at $5.2440.
Wheat prices have been on a downward trend after the USDA raised its outlook for global inventories at the end of the 2014-15 season to 189.54 million metric tons from the 188.61 million tons forecast last month.
Elsewhere on the CBOT, U.S. soybeans for August delivery inched up 0.35%, or 4.1 cents, to trade at $11.8750 a bushel.
The front-month soybean contract tacked on 0.7%, or 8.2 cents, on Tuesday to end at $11.8400 amid indications of ongoing demand for U.S. supplies from top consumer China.
Gains were limited as indications of ample global supplies weighed. According to the USDA, approximately 73% of the U.S. soy crop was rated “good” to “excellent” as of last week, the best condition for this time of year in a decade.
The agency raised its forecast for the U.S. soybean harvest by 4.5% to a record 3.8 billion bushels earlier in the month. The agency also increased its forecast for soybean inventories by 12% to 140 million bushels.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.