CHICAGO: US soybean futures reached a one-month peak on Friday and corn futures touched a more-than-four-month high after the US Department of Agriculture lowered its US harvest outlooks for both crops by more than expected, traders said.
Both markets later pared gains but remained poised for weekly advances. Wheat futures, meanwhile, ticked down as timely rain hit major wheat-growing areas.
CBOT corn was up 3 cents at $4.30-1/2 a bushel at 12:49 p.m. CST (1849 GMT) while CBOT soy was up 5-1/4 cents at $10.31-1/2 per bushel. CBOT wheat was down 1/4 cent at $5.71-1/4 a bushel.
US farmers grew fewer soybeans and less corn this year than previously expected after a late-season dry spell, but supplies of both crops remain hefty, the USDA said in its monthly supply and demand report.
The USDA also raised world ending stocks for wheat above trade expectations. Growers are now estimated to have produced the second-biggest US soy harvest in history after crop losses prevented them from setting a record, although end-of-season supplies are still projected at a five-year high. Soybeans have also gained some strength from byproduct soyoil. CBOT December soyoil set a new four-month high on Friday on expectations that newly elected US president Donald Trump could impose tariffs on imported biofuel feedstocks and on spillover support from a palm oil rally. Meanwhile, traders booked profits ahead of the weekend, adding pressure to corn and soy futures.
“Guys that have been long are taking some profit,” Joe Davis, broker at Futures International, said. “It’s been a long week with the election and the (USDA report), so people who put risk on for a bullish number got it and started selling.”
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