Corn under pressure as pace of U.S. harvest improves

Investing.com - U.S. corn futures extended losses from the previous session on Tuesday, as a pickup in the pace of the U.S. harvest last week weighed on prices.

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, US corn for December delivery dipped 0.4 cents, or 0.13%, to trade at $3.7700 a bushel during U.S. morning hours.

A day earlier, prices of the grain lost 4.2 cents, or 1.11%, to end at $3.7740 a bushel.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday that nearly 89% of the U.S. corn harvest was completed as of November 16, up from 80% in the preceding week and above the five-year average of 88% for this time of year.

Prices of the grain hit a four-month high of $3.8900 a bushel on November 13, amid speculation frigid weather in key U.S. corn-growing states delayed the pace of the harvest.

Meanwhile, US soybeans for January delivery tacked on 2.88 cents, or 0.28%, to trade at $10.3888 a bushel.

Prices of the oilseed rallied 13.6 cents, or 1.34%, on Monday to settle at $10.3620 a bushel.

According to the USDA, approximately 94% of the U.S. soy harvest was completed as of last week, below the five-year average of 96% for this time of year.

The USDA also reported that U.S. soybeans expected for export climbed 25% to a record 3.113 million metric tons in the week ended November 13.

Elsewhere on the CBOT, US wheat for December delivery traded at $5.4813 a bushel, down 3.48 cents, or 0.63%.

A day earlier, wheat prices lost 8.6 cents, or 1.56%, to close at $5.5160 a bushel.

The USDA said that nearly 60% of the U.S. winter-wheat crop was rated in "good" to "excellent" condition, unchanged from the previous week.

The December wheat contract surged 46.0 cents, or 8.2%, last week, the biggest weekly gain in two years, amid concern freezing temperatures in the U.S. Midwest harmed winter-wheat crop prospects.

Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.