Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Friday on technical selling and profit taking after two sessions of gains, and as a monthly crush report showed U.S. processors handled far fewer beans than expected in August.
Corn futures followed soybeans lower, with both markets also pressured by improving crop conditions in Europe and rising supplies from the accelerating U.S. harvest.
Wheat rebounded from losses in the prior session on worries about shipments from the Black Sea breadbasket region and reduced harvest potential in Australia and Argentina due to recent dry weather.
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U.S. wheat futures closed higher on Thursday on concerns over the limited availability of supplies for export in Russia, analysts said.
Grain traders are monitoring early harvest reports from the U.S. Midwest in anticipation of further adjustments to supply outlooks issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) earlier this week.
“We’re seeing some position squaring after yesterday’s price action,” said Terry Reilly, senior agricultural strategist with Marex.
“The trade is starting to get comfortable with the 220 (million bushel soybean) carry-out, and I don’t think they want to carry a position going home into the weekend,” he said, referring to USDA’s forecast for the tightest U.S. soy stocks in eight years.
A slower-than-expected August soy crush among National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) members weighed on soybean futures, while the lowest soyoil stocks in nearly six years underpinned soyoil futures.
Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans were down 20-1/4 cents at $13.40-1/4 a bushel, ending down 1.7 per cent for the week in its third straight weekly decline (all figures US$).
December corn futures were down 4-1/4 cents at $4.76-1/4 a bushel, down 1.6 per cent in the week and hovering just above a 2-1/2 year low.
CBOT December wheat was up 10-1/2 cents at $6.04-1/4 a bushel. The contract touched a 33-month low on Tuesday but rallied to end the week up 1.4 per cent, its biggest weekly advance in seven weeks.
— Reporting for Reuters by Karl Plume in Chicago; additional reporting by Peter Hobson in Canberra and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris.
