Soybeans Rise as Traders Weigh Crop Concerns From U.S. to Brazil

October 23rd, 2014

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Category: Grains, Oilseeds

Soybean Harvest 450x299(AgWeb) – Soybeans rose to the highest in more than a month in Chicago as traders weighed concerns about dry weather in Brazil and slow harvesting in the U.S.

U.S. farmers had collected 53 percent of crops in main growing areas as of Oct. 19, behind the average pace of 66 percent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. While wet weather recently delayed fieldwork, conditions are expected to be drier this week in most areas, according to DTN. Brazil, the biggest exporter, is facing planting delays because of dry weather. Growing areas may see scattered showers late this week, DTN said.

In the U.S., “the harvest is slow and farmers are not selling,” Matt Ammermann, a commodity risk manager at INTL FCStone, said by telephone today. “If you look at the fundamental situation, it’s also a little dry in Brazil, but there’s rain in the forecast.”

Soybeans for November delivery rose 1.6 percent to $9.80 a bushel at 6:05 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade after earlier touching $9.825, the highest since Sept. 18. The price is still down 24 percent this year. The U.S. soybean crop will climb to a record 3.927 billion bushels, the USDA said Oct. 10.

Weather concerns mean some speculators may close out bets on falling prices, Ammermann said. Money managers were net-short 17,190 contracts as of Oct. 14, compared with a bearish position of 39,786 contracts five weeks earlier, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Soybean demand also has increased from importers, with U.S. export inspections climbing 38 percent in the week to Oct. 16, the USDA said Oct. 20.

Corn for December delivery rose 1.3 percent to $3.605 a bushel, after earlier dropping 0.7 percent. Prices climbed 2.2 percent yesterday, the largest gain since Oct. 14. Thirty-one percent of the crop was collected as of Oct. 19, trailing the five-year average of 53 percent, according to the USDA. U.S. corn production is set to reach a record 14.475 billion bushels this year, the USDA says.

Wheat for delivery in December increased 0.5 percent to $5.22 a bushel. In Paris, milling wheat for January delivery rose 1.3 percent to 169 euros ($214.57) a metric ton on Euronext. Egypt, the world’s biggest wheat importer, bought 180,000 tons of the grain in a tender yesterday, with supplies originating from France, Russia and Romania.

 

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