Futures slump on profit taking

(Agriculture.com) – U.S. grain and soybean futures dropped Monday, as market participants booked profits and rain in the U.S. improved crop-planting conditions.

Lingering concerns about slowing Chinese economic growth also weighed on soybean futures Monday.

Soybean futures led the declines in grain futures, settling near a two-week low, as traders took profits off the table after futures climbed to over 7-month highs last week.

Managed funds have built up a high level of long positions in soybeans and some appeared to be exiting those positions on Monday, taking advantage of recent price gains, analysts said. Soybeans closed at a seven-month high on Thursday before sliding on Friday and Monday.

“I think a lot of the losses in soybeans are technically-driven profit-taking on long positions,” said Doug Houghton, an analyst at Brock Associates, an agricultural commodity advisory firm in Milwaukee, Wis.

Macroeconomic concerns including slowing Chinese growth and debt issues in Spain likely contributed to the fall in soybean futures, he said.

“The market’s sensitive to any news about China’s economy,” even though growth there is likely still fast enough not to have a large impact on soybean imports, Houghton said.

Traders remain cautious of managed funds reducing risk in the market. Large managed funds, including hedge funds, were net long 242,673 CBOT soybean contracts in the week ended April 10, up 3% from the prior week, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The soybean market was a bit overbought, and without any fresh demand news to spur buying, buyers had little resistance for traders interested in booking profits, said Mike Zuzolo, president Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting.

Bullish traders were also disappointed that National Oilseed Processors Association reported the amount of soybeans crushed in March was lower than analysts anticipated, Zuzolo added.

NOPA estimated 140.5 million bushels of soybeans were crushed in March, up from 136.4 million in February but lower than the average analyst estimate of 141.5 million.

CBOT May soybeans ended 16 3/4 cents lower at $14.20 a bushel.

Corn and wheat futures dropped to more than two-week lows as well, stumbling on improved weather for Midwest crops. Weekend rains that moved through the Midwest, recharged dry soils, a feature expected to boost crop potential for early planted crops.

However, losses in both corn and wheat were limited, as there remains enough uncertainty ahead of a long growing season to temper an outright selloff, analysts added.

Meanwhile, “the rains in parts of the northwest corn-belt have improved the topsoil moisture situation for planting, and certainly that helps the prospect for more bean acres there,” Houghton said. “They do need that rain,” he added.

CBOT May corn ended down 6 cents at $6.23 1/4, and the December contract that represents crops to be harvested in the fall dropped 10 3/4c to $5.26 1/4.