CHICAGO: US soyabean futures hit their highest prices in more than two years on Monday as dry weather in parts of the US Midwest is expected to damage the condition of crops, analysts said.
Wheat futures also advanced, while corn futures eased.
Traders are keeping a close eye on US weather ahead of the autumn harvest amid concerns about drought in the key state of Iowa. Rains were disappointing during the weekend, and this week's forecast looks too dry, traders said.
The US Department of Agriculture is expected to lower soyabean and corn condition ratings by 3 percentage points each in a weekly report due at 3 p.m. CDT (2000 GMT).
Rain could still help later-planted crops, especially soyabeans.
"Weekend rains in US farm belts disappointed and there is concern that the condition of US crops has deteriorated," said Matt Ammermann, StoneX commodity risk manager.
The most-active soyabean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were up 2-1/2 cents at $9.53 a bushel by 11:02 a.m. CDT (1602 GMT). Earlier in the session, the contract climbed to its highest price since June 2018 at $9.66-3/4 a bushel.
Most-active corn was down 2-1/4 cents at $3.57 a bushel in a setback after touching its highest price since mid-March. Wheat rose 1-1/2 cents to $5.50-1/4 a bushel at the CBOT.
Rising prices in Russia and Ukraine, rivals to US exporters, underpinned CBOT wheat futures, traders said.
In export news, the USDA said private exporters sold 596,000 tonnes of US corn to China for delivery in the 2020/21 marketing year that begins Sept. 1.
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