(Reuters) – U.S. soybean futures fell for the first time in five sessions on Tuesday, edging away from a one-week high as traders awaited a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, although losses were capped by strong demand for U.S. supplies.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Chicago Board Of Trade January soybeans fell 0.3 percent to $10.40-3/4 a bushel, having firmed 0.8 percent on Monday.
* March corn fell 0.5 percent to $3.88-1/4 a bushel, having slid 1.2 percent in the previous session.
* March wheat fell 0.9 percent to $5.92-3/4 a bushel, having closed up 0.7 percent on Monday.
* Soybeans have been drawing support on expectations that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will tighten its outlook for U.S. soy inventories in a monthly crop report on Wednesday.
* Soybean stocks are projected to drop 5 percent from November to 427 million bushels, while corn and wheat stocks are expected to rise, according to a Reuters survey of analysts.
* Soybean prices were also supported by strong demand. On Dec. 16, representatives of six Chinese soybean buyers will sign agreements with U.S. exporters to buy an unspecified amount of soybeans at a ceremony in Chicago, U.S. trade groups said on Monday.
* Corn under pressure on weaker cash markets.
* Analysts expect USDA next week to raise its forecast of U.S. 2014/15 corn ending stocks to 2.027 billion bushels, from 2.008 billion in November.
* Australian wheat exports were pegged at 16.99 million tonnes, down 6 percent from a September forecast, the world’s fourth largest exporter said on Tuesday. The move followed a cut in its wheat output forecast earlier this month.
MARKET NEWS
* The yen held onto sizeable gains early on Tuesday, having staged a broad short-covering rally as a big drop in oil prices hit global risk appetite.
* Oil dived 4 percent to new five-year lows on Monday, as Wall Street expectations of a deeper price slump next year and a Kuwaiti prediction for $65 crude set off one of the biggest declines this year.
* The S&P 500 posted its biggest daily percentage drop since Oct. 22 on Monday as oil’s slump to a five-year low caused a selloff in energy shares.
