Chicago | Reuters—U.S. soybean futures rose about one per cent on Monday, supported by fresh export demand, dry weather in the Midwest crop belt and uncertainty about the start of planting in Brazil, traders said.
Corn inched higher, following soybeans, while wheat was little changed in choppy trade.
As of 12:59 p.m. CDT (1759 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) November soybeans SX24 were up 12-1/2 cents at $10.17-1/2 per bushel. December corn CZ24 was up 3/4 cent at $4.07 a bushel and December wheat WZ24 was unchanged at $5.67 a bushel.
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Soybean futures rose on demand for U.S. supplies and worries about a slow start to planting in Brazil, the world’s top exporter. Soybean planting has not yet started in Brazil due to low soil moisture and dry weather, consultancy AgRural said.
“Soybean planting will be delayed until those rains return to the region. Forecast models don’t see that happening in September, but they continue to show the rains returning as we turn the calendar to October,” StoneX chief commodities economist Arlan Suderman wrote in a client note.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed private sales of 132,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China, the latest in a string of exports to the world’s biggest soy buyer.
Dry weather has persisted in much of the U.S. crop belt, potentially stressing late-planted soybeans, although much of the crop is nearing maturity. Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the USDA in its weekly crop progress report later on Monday to lower its condition ratings for both soybeans and corn.
Commodity funds hold a net short position in CBOT soybean futures, leaving the market prone to bouts of short-covering, especially as traders await the USDA’s monthly supply demand reports on Thursday. Analysts on average expect the government, in those reports, to lower its U.S. corn yield forecast and leave its soybean yield estimate unchanged.
Wheat prices were anchored by a strong pace of exports from the Black Sea region. Dealers said exporters of Russian wheat continued to offer supplies at very competitive prices while the pace of shipments from Ukraine also remained strong.
Dealers noted, however, quality concerns in Ukraine, which could curb milling wheat exports.
—Additional reporting for Reuters by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Nigel Hunt in London.
