Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Tuesday, pressured by signs of rising competition on the export market that could lead to a domestic supply glut, traders said.
Forecasts for improving crop weather in Brazil and Argentina during January also weighed on the market.
Corn and wheat futures ended firm after spending much of the day in negative territory, with traders noting technical buying at the session lows. A rally in the equities market and easing concerns about the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant added support.
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“The grains are kind of caught in a little bit of a tug of war,” said Jim Gerlach, president of Indiana-based broker AC Trading. “We are stuck in definitive ranges right now. It is going to take something big to break out of these ranges.”
Chicago Board of Trade March corn futures ended up 2-1/2 cents at $5.86, while CBOT March wheat was up 2-1/4 cents at $8.08-1/2 a bushel (all figures US$).
CBOT January soybeans were 11-1/4 cents lower at $12.50-1/4 a bushel.
Brazil was expected to export 2.579 million tonnes of soybeans in December, up from 161,024 tonnes a year earlier, according to industry group Anec. The United States typically dominates the soy export market during December.
Traders were watching to see if the U.S. Department of Agriculture adjusted its outlook for Chinese import demand in its monthly world supply and demand estimates due on Thursday.
USDA’s view of the world wheat balance sheet also was in focus due to Russia’s quota plans and the upcoming harvest of what is expected to be a large, mixed-quality crop in Australia.
— Reporting for Reuters by Mark Weinraub; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Colin Packham in Canberra.
