Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose for the fifth session in a row on Monday on signs of good demand on both the domestic and export fronts.
Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat futures extended their winning streak to a sixth straight session, hitting a nine-year high on tightening global supplies and robust world demand, traders said.
“High prices have not yet caused serious demand rationing, with Iraq indicating it may make big purchases and a new purchase tender from Algeria issued on Saturday,” said Matt Ammermann, StoneX commodity risk manager. The question is when more export demand will be switched to the U.S.”
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Corn futures eased after three straight days of gains as U.S. farmers neared the end of a bumper harvest. But strength in wheat and soybeans supported the corn market even as the rising supply base added pressure to the market.
Chicago Board of Trade January soybean futures ended 13 cents higher at $12.57-1/4 a bushel (all figures US$).
The National Oilseed Processors Association on Monday said the October soybean crush rose to 183.993 million bushels, topping the average of market forecasts. The monthly total was the third-highest on record.
Strong domestic crushing may help make up for disappointing recent export activity.
“We only have so much capacity for processing in the U.S.,” said Joe Vaclavik, president of Standard Grain. “Even if you crush beans at full capacity, I don’t believe it’s going to be enough to offset what you lose in exports.”
Private exporters reported the sale of 264,000 tonnes of soybeans to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2021-22 marketing year, the U.S. Agriculture Department said. The deal was the biggest daily soybean sale in a month.
CBOT December soft red winter wheat ended up 9-1/4 cents at $8.26-1/4, peaking at $8.29-1/2, the highest on a continuous basis for the most-active contract since December 10, 2012.
Wheat drew additional support from a USDA report that showed weekly export inspections of wheat totaling a better-than-expected 388,743 tonnes.
CBOT December corn ended 3/4 cent lower at $5.76-1/2 per bushel.
— Christopher Walljasper reports on agriculture and ag commodities for Reuters from Chicago; additional reporting by Mark Weinraub.
