Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures ended higher on Tuesday for a fourth straight session, with the benchmark November contract touching a one-week top on firm cash markets and global demand for vegetable oils, analysts said.
But Chicago Board of Trade corn and wheat futures closed lower, sagging after a choppy session.
CBOT November soybeans settled up 6-1/2 cents at $12.28 per bushel (all figures US$). CBOT December wheat ended down 1/4 cent at $7.36 a bushel, while December corn fell 2-1/2 cents to finish at $5.30-1/4 a bushel.
Read Also
Alberta crop conditions improve: report
Varied precipitation and warm temperatures were generally beneficial for crop development across Alberta during the week ended July 8, according to the latest provincial crop report released July 11.
Soybeans rose, led by strength in soy products including soyoil and soymeal futures. CBOT soyoil futures have surged 47 per cent this year on rising global demand for vegetable oil and biodiesel fuel. Soymeal futures have declined so far this year, but the most-active CBOT contract set a two-week high on Tuesday.
Farmer sales of U.S. soybeans to domestic processors have been slow in some areas, particularly the eastern Midwest, where rains in recent weeks have stalled field work.
The U.S. soybean harvest was 60 per cent complete by Sunday, ahead of the five-year national average of 55 per cent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. But progress was slower than normal in Illinois, the top U.S. soy state, as well as in Indiana and Ohio.
“We need to get some harvesting done for some of these crushers to get their hands on beans,” said Terry Reilly, senior analyst with Futures International in Chicago, noting that the U.S. soybean crush was smaller than expected in September, limiting production of soymeal and soyoil.
Strength in crude oil futures and Wall Street equity markets as well as a weaker dollar lent support, encouraging fund-driven buying in commodities. Soybean and corn futures sometimes take cues from energy markets due to their roles as feedstocks for ethanol and soy biodiesel.
The U.S. corn crop was 52 per cent harvested, USDA said, ahead of the five-year average of 41 per cent but behind the average analyst expectation of 54 per cent.
Wheat futures closed fractionally lower, retreating on technical selling and profit-taking after early strength tied to tightening global supplies, a factor that lifted the market to eight-year highs in August.
— Reporting for Reuters by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago; additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Gus Trompiz in Geneva.
