Wheat futures were on track Wednesday to post their lowest settlement since September 2021 and soybean futures edged higher as traders digested the latest monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report from U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA raised its 2022/2023 wheat production estimates for Kazakhstan, Australia, and India, with production in Kazakhstan forecast at 16.4 million metric tons. The government agency said that would be the largest harvest since the 2011/2012 marketing year. The USDA also cut its estimate for Argentina’s soybean production by 8 million metric tons to 33 million, citing “dry and hot weather conditions.” At some point, “the world could come knocking on the U.S. door for more soybean meal,” Darin Newsom, Barchart senior market analyst, told MarketWatch, adding that Argentina is the world’s largest soybean meal exporter. May wheat WK23 was down 8 ¼ cents, or 1.2%, at $6.89 ¾ a bushel in Chicago, while May soybeans SK23 tacked on 2 ¼ cents, or nearly 0.2%, to $15.17 ¾ a bushel.
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