CHICAGO: US soybean futures firmed on Friday, supported by a fresh export deal that highlighted the robust overseas demand for the oilseed as well as lingering concerns about dry conditions in Argentina, traders said.
Wheat and corn futures slipped on pressure from ample global supplies of both grains.
But the losses were kept in check by short-covering, traders said. For the week, Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures were down 0.4 percent. Corn futures have dropped 1.4 percent this week while wheat was off 1.9 percent.
The US Agriculture Department on Friday morning said private exporters reported a deal to ship 205,000 tonnes of soybeans to unknown destinations in the 2016/17 marketing year. It was the third flash sale of the week and followed a USDA report of bigger-than-expected weekly export sales on Thursday.
"Soybeans are still bullish despite the US and South American harvests," consultancy Agritel said in a note, stressing the big weekly US export haul. Analysts were expecting that overseas buyers will turn their attention to South American suppliers in the coming months but any crop deficits from those key production countries will boost demand for US soybeans.
"Rain deficits are building in nearly half of Argentina's corn and soybean belt but rains are still on the way next week, likely limiting concerning areas to around 20 percent if precipitation comes through as anticipated," Matt Zeller, director of market information at INTL FCStone, said in a note to clients.
At 10:43 CST (1643 GMT), CBOT January soybean futures were up 4 cents at $10.33 a bushel.
The strength in the soy market was capped by technical resistance as prices failed to break through Thursday's high. A bearish forecast for production in Brazil also limited buying.
Brazilian independent analyst Safras & Mercado raised its forecast for Brazil's 2016/17 soybean crop to 106.1 million tonnes, 9.2 percent above the 2015/16 season and 2.5 percent more than its previous projection in October.
CBOT March corn futures were down 2 cents at $3.54-1/2 a bushel and CBOT March wheat was 1 cent lower at $4.08-1/4 a bushel.
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