Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean prices rallied to a two-month high on Wednesday, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed a Reuters report that China booked its largest single-day U.S. soybean purchases since at least late July.
Unfavourable weather conditions in Brazil were also supportive, traders said.
Meanwhile, corn turned higher on the day as traders and funds positioned themselves ahead of USDA’s monthly supply-and-demand reports, set to be released on Thursday.
Wheat rallied on new concerns about the Black Sea export corridor after Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that a Russian missile damaged a Liberia-flagged civilian vessel entering a Black Sea port in the Odesa region.
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The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) settled up 3-3/4 cents at $13.65-3/4 a bushel (all figures US$).
USDA confirmed private sales of 433,000 metric tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China, another 132,000 tons to unknown destinations, and 344,500 tonnes of soybeans also to unknown destinations, all for delivery in the 2023-24 marketing year that began Sept. 1.
Chicago soybean futures slumped to a 22-month low in October on U.S. harvest pressure and weak export demand. But futures have been trending upward since, as erratic weather has caused problems in the world’s No. 1 exporter Brazil and demand for U.S. cargoes underpinning the market.
Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting, said “Looking at the overall picture, the grand scheme of soybeans, it isn’t more bullish. It’s just less bearish right now.”
Wheat settled up 22 cents at $5.92-1/4 a bushel and corn ended up 7-1/2 cents at $4.76 a bushel.
Wheat also saw support by Argentina’s 2023-24 wheat harvest now estimated at 13.5 million metric tonnes, below the 14.3 million tonnes previously forecast, the Rosario Grains exchange said.
— Brendan O’Brien is a Reuters breaking news reporter in Chicago.
