Corn steadies after slide, Saudi tender supports wheat

PARIS/JAKARTA, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Chicago corn futures rose on Thursday, steadying after plunging the previous day on a higher than expected estimate of US stocks, while wheat rose with support from a large import tender announced by Saudi Arabia.

The most active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 0.5% at $5.03-1/4 a bushel by 1127 GMT.

The benchmark earlier fell to a six-week low at $4.98-1/4, adding to Wednesday's 4.1% drop, before recovering to move back above the psychological $5 threshold.

US farmers and grain handlers had 35% more corn in storage on September 1 than a year earlier, the US Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday, a bigger than expected increase following a large harvest in 2025.

The widely followed stocks estimate wrong-footed investors holding a big long position in corn.

The data "had a shock effect on the corn market", Argus analysts said in a note.

Corn prices traded around three-year highs last month as falling expectations for US yields and harvest rain delays in parts of the Midwest raised the prospect of tightening supply.

Weather forecasts now point to drier conditions in much of the Midwest in early October.

CBOT wheat was up 0.6% at $6.79-1/2 a bushel, recovering from an earlier seven-week low at $6.70-3/4.

Wheat tracked corn lower on Wednesday, with additional pressure from a rising dollar .

News that Saudi Arabia is seeking to buy 535,000 metric tons of wheat in a tender helped prices to regain ground, with traders seeing a sign that the recent price fall has stirred fresh demand.

"Wheat will be the driver today, with the Saudis putting several hundred thousand tons of demand on the books," a European trader said.

December wheat on Euronext was up 1.4%. The European benchmark drew additional support from a falling euro and expectations that eastern European origins will supply much of any Saudi purchase.

A lack of progress in diplomatic efforts to restore normal shipping through the Black Sea also underpinned wheat prices.

Grain consultancy Sovecon said on Wednesday that it had cut its forecast for Russia's 2026/27 wheat exports by 4.7 million tons to 36.7 million tons, warning that Azov and Black Sea ports will remain shut until 2027.

CBOT soybeans were down 0.1% at $12.91-3/4 a bushel.

The US soybean crush was likely to have dropped in August to an 11-month low, analysts said ahead of a monthly USDA report due on Thursday.