US soyabean futures firmed on Friday, supported by a fresh export deal that highlighted the robust overseas demand for the oilseed as well as lingering concerns about dry conditions in Argentina, traders said. Wheat and corn futures slipped on pressure from ample global supplies of both grains. But the losses were kept in check by short-covering, traders said.
For the week, Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures were down 0.4 percent. Corn futures have dropped 1.4 percent this week while wheat was off 1.9 percent. The US Agriculture Department on Friday morning said private exporters reported a deal to ship 205,000 tonnes of soyabeans to unknown destinations in the 2016/17 marketing year. It was the third flash sale of the week and followed a USDA report of bigger-than-expected weekly export sales on Thursday.
Analysts were expecting that overseas buyers will turn their attention to South American suppliers in the coming months but any crop deficits from those key production countries will boost demand for US soyabeans. At 10:43 CST (1643 GMT), CBOT January soyabean futures were up 4 cents at $10.33 a bushel.
The strength in the soya market was capped by technical resistance as prices failed to break through Thursday's high. A bearish forecast for production in Brazil also limited buying. Brazilian independent analyst Safras & Mercado raised its forecast for Brazil's 2016/17 soyabean crop to 106.1 million tonnes, 9.2 percent above the 2015/16 season and 2.5 percent more than its previous projection in October. CBOT March corn futures were down 2 cents at $3.54-1/2 a bushel and CBOT March wheat was 1 cent lower at $4.08-1/4 a bushel.
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