Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures fell on Friday as the weather forecast in drought-stricken northern Brazil promised much-needed rain for producers who are dealing with the prospect of low yields and damaged crops.
Corn and wheat both ended higher as traders continued to cover short positions in both markets.
The most active soybean contract Sv1 settled down 17-3/4 cents to close at $13.25 per bushel, finishing the week 0.4% lower.
Forecast showers and easing heat in northern Brazil could help crops next week in the world’s biggest soybean exporting nation.
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“It looks like the weather patterns have indeed turned around,” said Tom Fritz, a partner with brokerage EFG Group in Chicago.
Crop watchers have been paring their harvest forecasts for Brazil, although most still expect larger year-on-year production.
Consultancy Patria Agronegocios said Brazil would produce 150.67 million metric tons of soybeans, below last season’s 154.10 million, due to drought in key producer states in the first projection seen by Reuters predicting an annual decline.
Commodity brokerage StoneX cut its forecast to 161.9 million tons, from 165.03 million previously.
Another round of private U.S. soybean sales totaling 330,000 tons confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to China and unknown destinations helped support soybeans despite the decline in price.
The most active CBOT wheat Wv1 finished up 4-3/4 cents at $6.02-3/4 per bushel, closing the week 4.4% higher than last Friday.
Corn Cv1 settled 2 cents higher at $4.84-3/4 a bushel, up 0.4% for the week and 3% above the week’s low reached on Wednesday.
Following recent contract lows and weather disruption to Black Sea shipments, improved export prospects supported gains this week in the wheat market in which speculators have built a large short position.
Export demand has also underpinned the corn market, which saw short covering over the last few days.
–Additional reporting for Reuters by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra.
