Soybeans recover some ground but big Brazilian harvest looms

CANBERRA: Chicago soybean futures edged higher on Tuesday after falling in the previous session on lower-than-expected U.S. crushing data, but the prospect of bumper South American production kept prices near four-year lows.

Corn futures also inched up, with traders expecting supply to tighten, while wheat was flat despite a huge Saudi purchase that lifted prices in Europe.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.2% at $9.83-1/2 a bushel at 0131 GMT, while corn inched up 0.1% to $4.45-1/2 a bushel and wheat was unchanged at $5.50 a bushel.

The U.S. soybean crush declined in November from an all-time high a month earlier and fell short of most trade estimates, data from the National Oilseed Processors Association showed.

However, it was still the largest November crush on record, up 2.2% from a year ago, and the fourth-largest ever for any month.

Favourable South American crop conditions and a lack of weather threats have pressured soy futures. Brazil’s 2024/25 planting is virtually complete, consultants AgRural said on Monday, predicting a harvest of 171.5 million metric tons.

Brazil is the world’s largest soybean producer and exporter.

In wheat, Euronext futures reached a seven-week high on Monday after Saudi Arabia’s buying agency purchased 804,000 tons of wheat in a tender, above the 595,000 tons it originally sought.

The Saudi tender and reports of rising prices and slowing shipments in Russia put attention on a possible dwindling of Russian supply that flooded the market for much of this year.

Cereal fields in Europe are generally in good condition after a dry, mild spell helped them recover from a soggy start to autumn, though grain belts around the Black Sea are lacking hardiness for winter, the EU’s crop monitoring service said.

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

Megacap tech shares muscled the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to higher closes on Monday as U.S. Treasury yields paused and investors readied for a busy central bank week.