Chicago soybeans fall for second session on improved weather, demand worries

SINGAPORE: Chicago soybeans lost more ground on Monday, with the market trading near its lowest in about three weeks on pressure from beneficial weather in the US Midwest and uncertainty over biofuel demand.

Wheat prices inched higher while corn slid.

“Soybean demand issues are still a bearish factor for the market,” said one oilseed trader in Singapore. “US weather has been benign for the crop, so we are not worried about the crop at this stage.” The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.4% to $10.37-1/2 a bushel, as of 0357 GMT, having dropped to its lowest since May 8 earlier in the session.

Wheat rose 0.5% to $5.36-1/2 a bushel and corn lost 0.2% to $4.43-1/4 a bushel. The soybean market is being weighed down by crop-friendly weather in the US Midwest, which has boosted hopes for ample supplies. Soybeans faced additional pressure from uncertainty over biofuel demand as the US government considers waivers for oil refiners.

The soybean market is assessing a Reuters report that the White House is considering a plan to clear a record backlog of requests from small refineries for exemptions from US biofuel laws.

The US soybean crush likely hit 6.055 million short tons in April, or 201.8 million bushels, according to analysts surveyed by Reuters ahead of a monthly US Department of Agriculture report due on Monday. An unexpected decline in US winter wheat conditions supported wheat prices. The USDA last week rated 50% of the winter crop as good to excellent, down from 52% the previous week while analysts on average had expected a one-point improvement.

Large speculators increased their net short position in CBOT corn futures in the week to May 27, regulatory data released on Friday showed. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that non-commercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, trimmed their net short position in CBOT wheat and trimmed their net short position in soybeans.