(Bloomberg) – Soybeans dropped for the first time in three sessions as U.S. farmers finalize harvesting of a record crop and amid expectations that rain in South America will aid planting and emerging crops.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to report harvest progress later today, after saying last week farmers had cut 94 percent of the soybean crop as of Nov. 16. The USDA expects farmers to pick a record 14.407 billion bushels of soybeans.
Soybeans for January delivery lost 0.7 percent to $10.3175 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade by 5:37 a.m. Prices rose 1.6 percent last week to trim this month’s losses.
“U.S. prices should continue to grind lower under the weight of record U.S. production and impending record crops in South America,” analysts at Morgan Stanley including Adam Longson wrote in a report today.
Widespread and heavy rain this week will significantly improve soil moisture across Goias, Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo and Parana in Brazil, MDA Weather Services said Nov. 21. While a few areas of excess moisture in the country can’t be ruled out, rain will largely aid late spring crop development, according to Commodity Weather Group LLC. Brazil is the world’s second-biggest soybean producer, USDA data show.
“Weather forecasters have most South American crop areas looking good already and are looking at further rainfall to bolster moisture levels,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia said an an e-mailed note today.
Corn for delivery in March fell 0.5 percent to $3.835 a bushel in Chicago, while wheat for delivery the same month added 0.4 percent to $5.555 a bushel. Milling wheat for January delivery traded on Euronext in Paris rose 0.8 percent to 179.25 euros ($222.47) a metric ton.
