US soyabean futures rose on Thursday to their highest level since July 25 as an ongoing drought in key exporter Argentina underpinned prices. Soyameal futures, which hit a 19-month high, were headed higher for the eight straight sessions as fears have mounted that Argentina will struggle to meet its export commitments for the animal feed. The most-active Chicago Board of Trade soyameal futures contract has risen 14 percent during the streak.
Corn futures weakened on technical selling after bumping up against the six-month high hit earlier this week. But concerns about the South American crop limited the declines. Wheat was mixed, with Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contracts easing on profit-taking, while K.C. hard red winter wheat futures rose on concerns that parched soil in the US Plains will reduce the size of the harvest there.
At 10:12 a.m. CST (1612 GMT), CBOT March soyabean futures were up 2-1/4 cents at $10.19-1/2 a bushel. Prices for the most-active contract hit a high at $10.22-3/4 a bushel. CBOT March soyameal was $2.70 higher at $372.60 a ton, peaking at $374.90 a ton, the highest for the most-active contract since July 15, 2016.
Argentina could harvest fewer than 50 million tonnes of soyabeans in the 2017-2018 crop year, the lead analyst at the Rosario grains exchange said on Wednesday, as a prolonged drought looks set to continue harming yields. CBOT March corn was half a cent lower at $3.66-3/4 a bushel, not far below Tuesday's high of $3.68-1/2.
Chicago March soft red winter wheat was down 1 cent at $4.54-3/4 a bushel. K.C. hard red winter wheat was 3-1/4 cents higher at $4.73 a bushel.
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