Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell about two per cent on Thursday as forecasts for much-needed rains in dry areas of Argentina’s crop belt and expectations of a massive Brazilian soy harvest sparked a round of profit-taking, analysts said.
Corn futures sagged on rain prospects for Argentina and pressure from a wave of farmer grain sales after the benchmark futures contract touched its highest level in a year this week. Wheat followed the lower trend.
Chicago Board of Trade March soybeans were down 23-3/4 cents at $10.19 per bushel. Corn futures were down 4-1/4 cents in the March contract at $4.74-1/2 per bushel and CBOT March wheat was down 9-1/2 cents at $5.387-1/2 a bushel.
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Soybeans and corn fell on expectations that weekend showers in Argentina may ease crop stress. Argentine farmers’ groups have asked the government to offer tax cuts for the sector, which they said was in a “critical” situation due to a drought.
Some analysts saw the improved Argentine weather outlook as a cue for speculators to book profits after CBOT corn hit a one-year high on Monday at $4.79-3/4 a bushel and soybeans notched a three-month top at $10.64.
Commodity funds have expanded their net long position in CBOT corn futures in recent weeks, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of long liquidation.
“Farmer selling has been heavy in recent days, leading to much weaker basis, which fund managers seem to be just figuring out,” StoneX chief commodities economist Arlan Suderman wrote in a client note.
Soybeans were further pressured by the approach of the harvest in Brazil, the world’s top producer. Agroconsult, a Brazilian consultancy, raised its estimate of the country’s soybean crop to a record 172.4 million metric tons, from 172.2 million previously, ahead of a countrywide crop tour.
Meanwhile, CBOT soymeal futures were down about 2.5 per cent a day after the National Oilseed Processors Association reported a record-large U.S. soy crush in December, underscoring plentiful soymeal output.
Wheat futures dipped amid lacklustre demand.
The International Grains Council (IGC) left its 2024/25 world wheat crop outlook at 796 million tons while production in the 2025/26 season was seen tentatively rising to a record 805 million tons, up one per cent year-on-year.
Additional reporting by Peter Hobson in Canberra and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris
