Soybeans rebound on bargain buying, US harvest limits upside

SINGAPORE: Prices of Chicago soybeans rose for the first time in three sessions on Wednesday, supported by bargain buying and an estimate of lower output in Brazil, although gains were capped by pressure from the ongoing US harvest.

Wheat prices rose as supply disruptions from the Black Sea region continued to provide a floor under the market.

“Markets are a bit oversold and buyers are seeing this as an opportunity,” said one trader in Singapore, referring to corn and soybean prices, which dropped to multi-month lows this week. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.1% to $12.44-1/2 a bushel by 0321 GMT, having dropped to its lowest in three-and-a-half months on Tuesday.

Corn added 0.2% to $4.49-1/2 a bushel and wheat gained 0.2% to $6.11-1/4 a bushel.

Ample US harvest supplies weighed on CBOT soybean prices, while prospects of lower output in Brazil offered some support.

Brazil’s 2026/27 soybean crop could fall to 163.6 million metric tons under a strong El Niño scenario, compared with 181.2 million tons under neutral weather conditions, a study by Serasa Experian projected on Tuesday.

Corn also faced pressure from the advancing US harvest, which could further bolster large stocks and increase world export supplies.

The US soybean harvest was 79% complete as of Sunday, in line with trade expectations, and the corn harvest was 60% finished, the US Department of Agriculture said in a weekly progress report on Monday, ahead of the average estimate in a Reuters poll of 10 analysts.

Traders said they remained worried that a weaker Brazilian currency would weigh on US export demand for grains and soybeans.

On Monday, the Brazilian real slumped against the US dollar after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s reelection — undoing bullish investor sentiment after his right-wing rival led the first round of voting earlier in the month.