Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures finished lower on Monday as advancing U.S. harvests uncovered strong yields and increased farmers’ sales of their crops, analysts said.
Pressure from harvests also hung over corn futures.
U.S. farmers have finished harvesting 76 per cent of the country’s soybeans and 59 per cent of the corn crop, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a weekly report issued after trading ended. Analysts were expecting the soybean harvest to be 77 per cent complete and the corn crop to be 59 per cent harvested.
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“We continue to hear better-than-expected yields, for soybeans in particular,” said Brian Basting, commodity research analyst at Advance Trading.
The most active soybean contract ended down 15-1/2 cents at $12.86-3/4 a bushel, after pulling back from a one-month peak on Friday (all figures US$). Corn, which on Friday rose to a 2-1/2-month top before closing lower, closed down 5-1/4 cents at $4.90-1/4 a bushel.
Farmers are tending to sell more of their freshly harvested soybeans than corn because of solid yields and prices, adding extra pressure on soybean futures, dealers said.
“U.S. harvest is rolling along with no major issues,” Peak Trading Research said in a note.
In Brazil, if expected rains come this week, it will improve prospects for soy farmers who have been sowing their new crop at a slower pace in unusually hot and dry weather, experts said.
Heavy rains in Argentina drenched drought-hit agricultural regions over the weekend, which could benefit wheat crops ahead of harvesting and also boost corn planting.
CBOT wheat settled 1-1/4 cents higher at $5.87-1/4 a bushel on bargain buying and U.S. export demand. A month ago, the market hit a three-year low.
“You’ve got to get really low to stimulate demand and we’ve finally seen some of that in the form of Chinese buying,” Basting said.
USDA’s weekly report showed U.S. winter wheat planting is 77 per cent complete, compared to analysts’ estimates for 79 per cent.
— Reporting for Reuters by Tom Polansek in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
