Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures jumped 1.7 per cent on Friday, their fourth straight day of gains, on expectations that the U.S. will boost its share of the soymeal export market due to harvest shortfalls in Argentina, traders said.
Corn futures firmed, hitting a nine-month high for the third day as traders scrambled to cover short positions ahead of the weekend. Corn has risen for four of the last five days amid incessant planting delays in the U.S. Midwest.
Gains in wheat also stemmed from short-covering as traders squared positions ahead of a tour through Kansas next week that will allow crop scouts to get a firsthand look at damage caused by a drought.
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CBOT July soybean futures were up 16-3/4 cents at $10.56-1/4 a bushel (all figures US$). Soymeal futures were 2.8 per cent higher and hit their highest since March 2.
“Soybean prices continue to steer clear of modestly lower price levels where a dangerous minefield of momentum triggers await,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
On the cash market, bids for soymeal shipped by barge to exporters at the U.S. Gulf firmed early on Friday. Premiums for soymeal loaded on ocean-going vessels also were strong.
“It is the meal leading the rally,” said Dan Cekander, president of DC Analysis. “There is just a feeling that the drought in Argentina will cut back on their meal processing. That tightness has not been resolved.”
CBOT July soft red winter wheat futures were nine cents higher at $4.98-1/2 a bushel while K.C. hard red winter wheat for July delivery gained 9-1/2 cents to $5.30-1/2 a bushel.
CBOT July corn was 3-1/4 cents higher at $3.98-1/2 a bushel. Prices peaked at $3.99 a bushel, the highest for the most-active contract since July 21.
Gains in the corn market were kept in check by forecasts for warmer weather in the U.S. Midwest that should allow farmers to make headway in their much delayed planting tasks in the coming days.
“Temperatures will gradually rise across the core U.S. crop regions through the end of the month under high pressure dominance,” Ed Whalen of Thomson Reuters Weather Research said in a report issued on Thursday.
Rainfall would be “rather limited” in that region, he said.
— Mark Weinraub is a commodities correspondent for Reuters in Chicago; additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Nigel Hunt in London.
