Winnipeg/Reuters – Chicago soybean, wheat and corn futures bounced on Tuesday, rising on bargain-buying and short-covering after setting recent lows.
Nearby soybeans fell for three straight sessions through Monday, shedding nearly 6 percent as weather improved for crop development across the U.S. Midwest.
“We’ve just plain hit (soybeans) hard for the last week or so and we’re just seeing a little buying coming back in,” said Karl Setzer, market analyst at Iowa-based MaxYield Cooperative.
August soybeans gained 13-1/2 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $9.74-3/4 a bushel.
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Soybeans received further support from a U.S. Agriculture Department report on Monday that showed national good-to-excellent ratings for the crop held steady compared with market expectations for a slight bump.
The USDA said 62 per cent of the U.S. soybean crop was in good to excellent condition, same as last week, but below the previous year’s 71 percent.
September wheat added 8-1/2 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $5.20-1/4, helped by technical buying after a drop to a one-month low on Monday.
The USDA said 85 per cent of the winter wheat crop has been harvested, up from 75 percent a week ago and higher than an 80 percent average of the last five years.
Chicago front-month corn edged up 2 cents to $3.75 a bushel, after touching 3.70, its lowest level since June 25.
Corn’s gains were limited by improving U.S. weather, Setzer said.
The condition of U.S. corn improved slightly last week with 70 percent of the crop rated good to excellent as compared with 69 percent the week before, although it was still well below the 75 percent seen a year ago, the USDA said.
Forecasts are for scattered showers in the U.S. grain belt over the next 10 days. Excessive rain had raised concerns about crop development, with corn rallying 18 percent in June.
Additional reporting by Mark Weinraub in Chicago, Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
