Chicago soybeans touched a new two-month peak before ending lower on Tuesday, amid questions over export demand and late-season drought impacts on U.S. crop yields, traders said.
U.S. wheat futures turned higher on Wednesday as worries about crop prospects in top global exporter Russia sparked a round of short-covering, analysts said.
Optimism over increased Chinese demand along with weather concerns in Brazil gave the Chicago soybean market a boost and triggered some fund short covering over the past week, but the futures will likely face stiff resistance to the upside going forward.
Some 45,000 union workers could walk off the job at seaports on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts on Oct 1, cutting off vital trade arteries just weeks ahead of the nation's presidential election.
U.S. soybean and corn futures climbed to two-month highs on Tuesday, following broad gains in commodity and equity markets after China unveiled economic stimulus measures, but pared gains as forecasts called for improved crop weather in South America, analysts said.
While producers could feel the pinch of a strike at the Port of Vancouver's grain terminals within a week, the markets won't feel much of a hit unless the strike continues for three or four weeks, analysts said.
Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures hit nearly a seven-week high on Monday as uncertainty about Brazilian planting weather and the size of the U.S. harvest sparked a round of fund-driven short-covering, analysts said.
The net fund short position in canola grew in mid-September, as speculative selling took the futures to contract lows, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).