A sharp fall in the quality of France's wheat crop due to excess rain will lead to additional costs for starch makers just as the industry is still suffering from low demand and increasing competition from imports
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.
Feed grain prices on the Prairies stayed relatively steady for the week ended Sept. 25 as low cattle numbers in feedlots and light test weights for grains limit price gains.
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.
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.
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).