Soybeans at 5-week high on US demand hopes; wheat eases

SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures gained more ground on Tuesday, with support from expectations that talks between the United States and China will result in higher demand for US supplies.

Wheat dipped from multi-year top and corn ticked higher.

"The US is crushing beans at a faster pace," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

"And then there is the summit meeting of the Presidents of China and the US The market suspects that China's importers have and will make hefty purchases of US soybeans in that context."

US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping stressed their responsibility to the rest of the world to avoid conflict as the heads of the two top global economies opened their closely watched talks on Monday.

The National Oilseed Processors Association on Monday said the October soybean crush rose to 183.993 million bushels, topping the average of market forecasts. The monthly total was the third-highest on record.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.2% at $12.59-3/4 a bushel, as of 0339 GMT, after climbing earlier in the session to its highest since Oct. 8. Wheat gave up 0.1% to $8.25-1/4 a bushel and corn gained 0.1% at $5.77 a bushel.

The US corn harvest was 91% complete as of Sunday, the USDA said in a weekly crop progress report, ahead of the five-year average of 86% and matching the average estimate in a Reuters poll of analysts.

The US soybean crop was 92% harvested, the USDA said, behind the five-year average of 93% but in line with analyst expectations.

Condition ratings for the US winter wheat crop improved, despite most analysts' expectations for no change. The USDA rated 46% of the 2022 winter wheat crop in good-to-excellent condition, up from 45% a week earlier.

Private exporters reported the sale of 264,000 tonnes of soybeans to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2021/22 marketing year, the US Agriculture Department said.

The deal was the biggest daily soybean sale in a month.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean, soymeal and wheat futures contracts on Monday and net sellers of soyoil and corn futures, traders said.