(Reuters) – U.S. soymeal rose more than 1 percent on Friday, stretching its monthly climb in October to the biggest since June 2008, boosted by record export demand and railroad congestion.
Soybeans added 0.7 percent, trading near a seven-week peak, while corn was largely unchanged after rising to its highest since July 18 in the previous session.
Soybeans, soymeal, corn and wheat futures were all on track to end October with strong gains. Soymeal has added more than a quarter to its value this month, while soybeans are up 13 percent, the most since July 2012.
Corn climbed 17 percent in October, its biggest monthly climb in more than two years, while wheat has added almost 13 percent after dropping by nearly as much in September.
Delays in harvest due to wet weather, slow farmer selling and fund buying have driven prices away from multi-year lows since the beginning of October, although the market expects grain and oilseed prices to remain under pressure amid projections of record-large crops in the United States.
“We had seen quite a significant drop in prices across key grain and oilseed markets for quite an extended period and it had to come to an end at some point,” said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank.
“With increased volatility in broader markets since October there has been flight to agricultural commodities.”
On Friday, soymeal gained 1.3 percent to $385 a short ton by 0223 GMT, soybeans added 0.7 percent to $10.36-1/2 a bushel. Corn was trading little changed at $3.73-3/4 a bushel while wheat rose 0.2 percent to $5.37-1/4 a bushel.
The slow pace of crop sales by farmers that has hurt two of the world’s biggest grain traders will likely stretch into next year, the head of Bunge Ltd has said.
The forecast for sluggish sales from Chief Executive Officer Soren Schroder may mean that Bunge and agribusiness rivals, including Archer Daniels Midland Co and Cargill Inc , will continue to feel economic pressure from limited supplies despite massive grain harvests in the United States.
The International Grains Council (IGC) on Thursday raised its forecast for the 2014/15 global wheat crop by 1 million tonnes to a record 718 million tonnes, and said global demand was forecast to increase quite strongly.
In a monthly update, the IGC said planting of 2015/16 winter crops was well advanced, with total area projected to rise by 1 percent year-on-year.
CME Group, owner of the Chicago Board of Trade, hiked margin requirements for soymeal futures <0#SM:> late on Wednesday, making bets on the commodity more expensive.
Crop watchers have raised concerns that the massive harvest of soybeans in the United States may not contain enough protein for optimal soymeal production, forcing processors to scramble to find supplies suitable for crushing.
Russian wheat has returned to export markets after several weeks of absence thanks to a weak rouble and higher world prices, offering a bright spot for an economy hurt by Western sanctions and tumbling oil revenue.
