Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures slumped on Monday, as traders jockeyed for position on what is shaping up to be a large U.S. harvest and ahead of what is expected to be a bearish U.S. production forecast this week.
The benchmark Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures contract hit technical resistance at its 10-day moving average overnight. But while investors waited for the U.S. Agriculture Department’s global supply and demand report on Tuesday, continued strength in the U.S. crude oil market kept a lid on wild market swings, analysts said.
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Corn futures edged higher early in the trading session, while wheat was mixed.
“The market is preparing for a negative USDA report tomorrow,” said analyst Dax Wedemeyer of U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa. “Everyone is expecting the big bean yields we’re hearing about to carry over into this report.”
The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) settled the day down 14.75 cents to $12.28 a bushel (all figures US$). Corn settled up 2.5 cents, to $5.33 a bushel, and wheat fell 2.25 cents, to $7.31-3/4 a bushel.
Meanwhile, analysts said they are keeping a sharp eye on weather patterns both in the U.S. and South America in the coming days.
Rains across the U.S. Midwest has slowed corn and soybean harvests, but weather forecasts are calling for drier days by the end of the week, according to meteorologists at the Commodity Weather Group. And weekend rains in Brazil have remained fairly widespread, aiding crop growth.
Wheat started the session up on bargain buying, after the most-active CBOT soft red winter wheat contract hit a one-week low on Friday, but prices soon eased back to nearly unchanged. Traders said that some of the early buying was by funds looking for a hedge against inflation.
— Reporting for Reuters by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago; additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris.
