SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures gained more ground on Friday, with the market on track for a second week of gains on concerns over dryness in parts of South America, although forecasts of a record production in Brazil kept a lid on prices.
Wheat inched higher, while corn slid from its highest level in six months.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) added 0.2% to $10.13-3/4 a bushel as of 0340 GMT and corn lost 0.1% to $4.59-1/4 a bushel but not far from its highest since mid-June, reached earlier in the session.
Soybeans edge higher, but Brazilian crop outlook caps gains
Wheat added 0.1% to $5.46 a bushel. Forecasts of record output in top exporter Brazil have weighed on soybean prices in recent weeks, although there are some worries over dryness in parts of South America.
Soybeans and corn received support from limited rain and building heat forecasts for southern Brazil and Argentina over the next few weeks, said Jim McCormick, co-founder of AgMarket.net.
Brazil’s 2024-2025 soybean crop is expected to reach 171.4 million metric tons, consultancy firm StoneX said on Thursday, increasing its forecast from the 166.2 million tons estimated in December.
The upward revision was driven by higher expectations for the area planted with the oilseed in the South American country and increased yields, according to StoneX, which estimated production to be 14.4% higher than the previous season.
In Russia, poor early growth for the next winter wheat crop, rising local prices and steps by the authorities to curb exports continued to create doubts about availability in the world’s biggest wheat exporting country.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT soybean, soyoil and wheat futures contracts on Thursday, traders said. They were net buyers of soymeal futures contracts and net even in corn futures.
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