Chicago | Reuters—U.S. soybean futures firmed on Thursday, led by strong gains in soyoil as a smaller-than-anticipated canola harvest outlook in Canada stoked worries about tightening global vegetable oil supplies.
Wheat also gained on short covering and bargain buying as a weaker dollar and poor crop conditions in top exporter Russia lifted hopes for improved U.S. export demand.
Corn followed soybeans and wheat higher, although gains in corn and soy were limited by good crop development and weather in South America and forecasts for bumper crops in Brazil and Argentina.
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Sharply higher ICE canola futures supported row crop futures prices on Thursday after Statistics Canada projected the country’s harvest of the oilseed as down seven per cent from a year earlier at 17.8 million metric tons. Analysts polled by Reuters, on average, expected an 18.5-million-ton crop.
“The story of the day is Stats Canada dropping the canola production, which led to palm oil getting back to their two-year highs. EU rapeseed is going higher,” said StoneX broker Craig Turner.
“We have a bullish story in vegetable oil and some bottom picking in the wheat. Soybeans are a follower. Corn too,” he said.
The soybean market has faced pressure from rain that has helped planting in top producer Brazil. Several private forecasters have raised their harvest outlook over the past week.
Concerns about future Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans have weighed on the market amid rising trade tensions between the two countries.
Chicago Board of Trade January soybeans SF25 were up 10 cents at $9.93-3/4 a bushel, while March corn CH25 gained 5 cents to $4.35 a bushel.
CBOT March wheat WH25 added 10 cents to $5.58-1/4 a bushel after setting a contract low in the prior session.
Worries about poor winter crop conditions in Russia offered support to U.S. wheat, which has faced stiff competition in global export markets.
—Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore
