SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures gained more ground on Friday with the market poised for its biggest weekly gain in a month on concerns over US weather and strong Chinese demand.
Wheat rose amid concerns over the Black Sea grain export deal, which is due to expire next week, while corn edged higher.
“The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has forecast record yields for the soybean crop and any issues with weather during the growing period is likely to trigger a rally in prices,” said one Singapore-based trader.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.2% at $12.72-1/4 a bushel, as of 0302 GMT.
The market has risen 4.2% so far this week, on track for its biggest gain since mid-June. Wheat added 0.6% to $6.43-3/4 a bushel and corn rose 0.4 to $5.02-1/4 a bushel.
For the week, wheat is down 1%, while corn added 1.6%. Portions of the northwestern Midwest are set to remain dry in the coming week and the key growth period for soybeans still lies ahead in August.
Soybeans rise 1%, up for 3rd session on fears of tighter world supplies
The USDA earlier this week projected massive harvests of both corn and soybean crops this year, despite drought conditions stressing plants during early stages of development.
China imported 10.27 million metric tons of soybeans in June, up 24.5% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Thursday, as large purchases of cheap Brazilian beans reached the market.
Wheat traders continued to monitor dry conditions for spring wheat in North America, results from winter wheat harvesting across the Northern Hemisphere, and talks to salvage a Black Sea export corridor from Ukraine that Russia is threatening to abandon next week.
The European Commission is helping the United Nations and Turkey try to extend a deal allowing the Black Sea export of Ukraine grain and is open to “explore all solutions,” a European Union spokesperson said on Thursday, ahead of the deal’s possible expiration on Monday.
There is a more than 90% chance that El Niño conditions will continue through the Northern Hemisphere winter 2023-24, a US government weather forecaster said on Thursday.
Forecasters expect the continued growth of El Niño through the autumn, peaking this winter with moderate-to-strong intensity, the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said.
Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean, corn, soymeal, soyoil and wheat futures contracts on Thursday, traders said.
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