Grain glut keeps pressure on

Big grain and oilseed crops around the world will probably keep pressure on Chicago Board of Trade grains and soy futures prices for a year or more, say traders and analysts.

In its December US and world supply/demand report, the US Department of Agriculture confirmed trade expectations for abundant raw materials for livestock feeders, bakers, ethanol users and cooking oil chefs, among others.

"There's no reason to get bullish. They increased the stocks for corn three million tonnes and they were up 600,000 tonnes on wheat," said Steve Bruce, trading specialist for Man Financial. 

Board of Trade wheat futures fell to 18-month lows and corn futures to three-year lows early last month.

The soybean futures market continues to struggle at roughly half the value it was trading last May. 

The USDA expects 2004/05 world wheat production to be a record 618 million tonnes - a 1.3-million-tonne increase on its forecast last month.

It said bigger wheat crops in Canada, the European Union, Bulgaria and Belarus more than offset smaller crops in Australia and South Africa.

The department predicted a world corn crop of 695.8 million tonnes, more than last month's forecast of 691.3 million tonnes.

- REUTERS