CBOT soybeans rally for third straight session

CHICAGO: US soybean futures rose for the third session in a row on Wednesday, gaining 1.6 percent, as muddy fields and forecasts for more rain threatened to add to the delays that have stymied farmers' planting tasks throughout the spring, traders said.

* CBOT July soybean futures rose above their 50-day moving average for the first time since Feb. 27 but failed to hold support above that key technical point.

* The most-active contract peaked at its highest since April 16.

* Soymeal and soyoil futures also gained sharply.

* Soymeal hit its highest since Oct. 16.

* CBOT July soyoil broke through its 30-day and 40-day moving averages before hitting resistance at its 50-day moving average.

* The US Agriculture Department on Tuesday afternoon said that farmers had planted just 29 percent of their intended soybean acreage as of May 26. The five-year average is 66 percent.