Soybeans, corn gain on signs of better demand

BEIJING: Chicago soybean and corn futures ticked higher on Wednesday on signs of rising demand as traders monitored the progress of the Pro Farmer crop tour, which has so far forecast high yields.

Soybeans and corn dip on expectations of large US harvests

Wheat also rose amid concerns of a smaller harvest in Russia.

Fundamentals

• The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.05% at $9.77 a bushel, as of 0138 GMT, CBOT corn edged 0.25% higher to $3.99 a bushel, while wheat gained 0.4% to $5.59 a bushel.

• Nebraska’s corn yield prospects and soybean pod counts are at levels not seen since 2021, surpassing both last year’s findings and their three-year averages, scouts on an annual tour of top US production states found on Tuesday.

• Indiana’s soybean pod count is the largest on the Pro Farmer crop tour in 22 years and its corn yield prospects are at a three-year high, scouts on the annual tour of top US grain and oilseed producing states reported on Tuesday.

• Exporters sold 132,000 metric tons of US soybeans to China and 239,492 metric tons to Mexico for shipment in the 2024/25 marketing year, the US Department of Agriculture said.

• Argentina’s upcoming 2024/25 corn crop is seen covering 6.3 million hectares, down 17% compared to the previous cycle as pest and weather concerns mount, the Buenos Aires grains exchange announced on Tuesday.

• Argentine authorities have quarantined a cargo ship in the Parana River over a suspected case of mpox onboard, the government said on Tuesday, as global public health authorities remain on alert for a new faster-spreading variant of the virus.

• Russia, the world’s biggest wheat exporter, may harvest less wheat than forecast, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said on Tuesday in the first cautious official acknowledgment of the damage inflicted on crops by bad weather earlier this year.

• Commodity funds were net buyers of Chicago Board of Trade soybean, soymeal, soyoil and wheat futures contracts, and net sellers of corn futures contracts on Tuesday, traders said.