Wheat futures headed lower Friday, set for their first daily loss in nine sessions, while soybean futures inched lower after a monthly supply and demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The government agency raised its forecast for global wheat production by about 1 million metric tons to 783.01 million for the 2023/2024 marketing year. While there is plenty of wheat, it’s “interesting that the world is projected to use more wheat than it produces,” said Sal Gilbertie, chief executive officer at Teucrium. For soybeans, the USDA lowered its forecast for 2023/2024 global production by 1.5 million metric tons to 398.88 million metric tons due to lower production in Brazil. It also raised Brazil’s soybean exports forecast by 2 million metric tons and left its U.S. exports forecast unchanged. “This continues to imply the U.S. remains a secondary player in the global soybean market due to the ongoing trade war with China,” said Darin Newsom, Barchart senior market analyst. In Chicago, the most-active March wheat futures contract
WH24,
traded at $6.29 a bushel, down 13 ¼ cents, or 2.1%. January soybeans
SF24,
fell 5 cents, or 0.4%, to $13.06 ¾ a bushel.
