Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures climbed on Monday as soyoil futures jumped 2.7 per cent on short-covering and strength in crude oil, traders said.
On the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), wheat futures firmed on bargain buying while corn ended marginally higher after a choppy session.
CBOT March soybeans SH24 settled up 11 cents or 0.9 per cent, at $12.24-1/4 per bushel and March soyoil BOH24 ended up 1.26 cents at 48.16 cents per lb, rallying after a dip to 46.77 cents.
U.S. crude oil futures CLc1 rose almost 2 per cent on supply disruptions, lending support to the soy complex due to soyoil’s role as a feedstock for biofuel. O/R Commodity funds hold a sizable net short position in CBOT soyoil futures, leaving the market prone to bouts of short-covering, noted Craig Turner, analyst with StoneX.
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“We are hitting support levels in bean oil, and we have a big short. So I think it’s short covering, and crude oil being up,” Turner said.
Some traders attributed soyoil’s strength to reports that a massive new Phillips 66 renewable diesel plant in Rodeo, California, cleared a regulatory hurdle, clearing the way for the plant to begin operations.
Rallies in soybeans were capped as traders weighed the size of the soybean crop in Brazil, the world’s top supplier, after rains eased concerns about drought damage there. Brazil’s soybean harvest was 6 per cent complete by Thursday, consultancy AgRural said.
China’s soybean imports from Brazil in 2023 jumped 29 per cent from the prior year, customs data showed on Saturday, expanding the South American grower’s dominance in the world’s largest soybean market and eating into the U.S. market share.
CBOT March wheat WH24 settled up 3-1/4 cents at $5.96-1/2 a bushel while March corn CH24 finished up 1/4 cent at $4.45-3/4 a bushel, consolidating after hitting a contract low last week at $4.36-3/4, the lowest on a continuous chart of the most-active corn contract Cv1 in three years.
Global wheat export business was quiet on Monday after over 1.5 million metric tons was bought last week in international tenders with buyers including Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan and Lebanon. Only Jordan was tendering for wheat so far this week.
–Additional reporting for Reuters by Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
