Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures climbed to an eight-month peak on Wednesday as reduced South American harvest prospects and improving U.S. export demand lifted the market for a seventh straight session.
Corn retreated as spread traders sold contracts and bought soybeans and rising ethanol stocks fuelled concerns about a slowdown in output of the biofuel.
Wheat followed corn lower, pressured by potentially crop-boosting rain and snow in some winter wheat areas of the Plains and Midwest.
Soybeans were higher most of the day but closed below session highs as traders anticipated a market correction after days of gains.
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“Beans were up 30 cents overnight on South American weather, but the market was getting a little toppy,” said Ted Seifried, chief agriculture strategist for the Zaner Group (all figures US$).
“In corn, we’re worried about ethanol. Stocks have built to levels where we’re not sure if we have much more storage and the snowy weather might not help demand in the short run.”
Chicago Board of Trade March soybeans settled up 16-3/4 cents at $15.45-1/4 a bushel after peaking at $15.64, the highest for a most-active contract since June 10.
Downward revisions to forecasts for upcoming South American soy harvests, following a drought, raised the prospect of additional demand for U.S. supplies.
That has created concern that U.S. farmers will need to plant more acres this spring to replenish supplies.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed 380,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans were sold to undisclosed buyers. It was the fourth straight day of a sales announcement, with nearly 1.3 million tonnes in sales confirmed in that time.
March corn fell 12-1/4 cents to $6.22-1/2 a bushel, while CBOT March wheat declined 14 cents to $7.55 a bushel.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday said U.S. ethanol stocks have swelled to the highest since April 2020.
— Karl Plume reports on agriculture and ag commodities for Reuters from Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Gavin Maguire in Singapore.
