Wheat, corn futures fall ahead of Ukraine peace talks

BEIJING — Chicago wheat and corn futures fell on Tuesday, ahead of Ukraine and Russia heading for peace talks, with worries over surging COVID-19 cases in China weighing on commodities markets further.

Soybean edged up after falling in the previous session ahead of a widely watched U.S. planting intentions report later this week.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.33% to $7.46 a bushel.

* Wheat dropped 0.86% to $10.42-1/2 a bushel, while soybeans inched up 0.05% to $16.65 a bushel.

* Traders squared off positions after profits, while there was broad sell-off in commodities as massive shutdowns in China stoked concerns over demand

* Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect that U.S. farmers will plant less corn and more soybeans this year, ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s U.S. planting intentions report on Thursday.

* Ukraine and Russia were headed to their first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks, though chances for a breakthrough were played down.

* Though wheat market is underpinned by supply disruptions due to Russia invasion of Ukraine, buyers found alternative origins for the grain

* Commodity funds were net sellers of Chicago Board of Trade wheat, soybean, soyoil, corn and soymeal futures contracts on Monday, traders said.

MARKET NEWS

* World stock markets cast aside fears of rising interest rates on Monday with the tech-heavy U.S. Nasdaq index rallying 1.3%, even as parts of the Treasury yield curve signaled recession risks while oil prices tumbled on fears of weaker Chinese demand.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0030 Australia Retail Sales MM Final Feb 1400 US Consumer Confidence March (Reporting by Hallie Gu in Beijing and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; editing by Uttaresh.V)