Soybeans firm on fund-driven buying; wheat futures sag

CHICAGO: US soybean futures firmed modestly on Wednesday on fund-driven buying and strength in allied soymeal futures, analysts said.

Corn futures were little changed while wheat futures dipped on technical selling.

As of 12:29 p.m. CDT (1729 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) November soybean futures were up 1-1/4 cents at $8.86 per bushel, hovering below a two-month high set Monday at $8.92.

CBOT December corn was flat at $3.75-1/4 a bushel and December wheat was down 6-3/4 cents at $5.16-3/4 a bushel.

Soybeans rose as funds covered short positions and added new longs, expecting a seasonal climb in prices.

"Beans are just catching a bid from macro-type buying, maybe some short-covering," said Matthew Connelly, analyst with the Hightower Report in Chicago.

"They (commodity funds) look at where beans (prices) have been the last five to 10 years - and seasonally, when they bottom out - and this is the time," Connelly said.

US farmers are harvesting what is likely a record-large soybean crop, and export sales to top global soy buyer China have been stalled by an ongoing trade dispute. But those factors may have been factored into the market already, Connelly said.

CBOT soymeal futures posted the biggest advances in the soy complex, reflecting robust demand for the feed ingredient. Ahead of the USDA's weekly export sales report on Thursday, analysts expected the government to report US soymeal sales in the latest week at 150,000 to 450,000 tonnes.

Corn futures were little changed, despite pressure from bearish weekly ethanol data. The US Energy Information Administration said weekly US output of corn-based ethanol fell to 1.01 million barrels per day, the lowest since April, while stocks of the biofuel rose to 24.13 million barrels.

CBOT wheat fell in low-volume trade on follow-through selling one day after the most-active December contract climbed to a two-week high, only to close lower.

US wheat exports look set for a strong second half to the 2018-19 season when shipments from Russia are expected to slow, the chairman of the USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board said on Tuesday.

As with Western European wheat, however, a modest pace of shipments in the season so far has curbing futures prices.

A stronger dollar added pressure, making US grains more expensive to those holding other currencies.