CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade soyabean and grain futures were mixed on Friday, as traders adjusted their positions before the year-end holidays and reacted to a flurry of economic data showing that underlying inflation pressures are continuing to ease.
Corn futures were steady to slightly lower amid ongoing concerns about the closure of rail crossings on the Texas-Mexico border. Weakness in the US dollar lent some support to wheat futures, but prices remain pressured by export competition from large supplies in the Black Sea region.
And the Chicago Board of Trade’s most-active soyabean contract firmed - after earlier dipping to the lowest price since Dec. 7 - as the oilseed market continued to assess rain forecasts for dry Brazilian crop belts.
“At this point, we’re just not seeing a lot of trading from a fundamental perspective,” said Angie Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting.
Weather continues to be a market focus, even if the outcome remains uncertain. Weather models are calling for rainfall across Argentina’s grain belt into early January, which should give a boost to the major producer’s crop ahead of harvest, traders said.
But the picture has been less clear in Brazil. Forecasts calling for heavy showers in part of Brazil around the turn of the year have somewhat eased drought worries, though observers are continuing to downgrade forecasts for the country’s next soyabean harvest.
And a flurry of transportation snarls - from the rail crossing closures, to low water levels at the Suez Canal and attacks on vessels in the Red Sea - has stoked concerns about global export disruptions.
The most-active soyabean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.36% at $13.06-1/2 by 1652 GMT. CBOT corn was down 0.11% at $4.72 a bushel while CBOT wheat was up 0.24% to $6.14 a bushel.
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