US soyabean futures rose on Friday in a short-covering and technical-buying rebound after a steep drop in the previous session to a 2-1/2 month low. Corn rose for a second straight day on bargain buying after hitting a four-month low at midweek. Wheat prices climbed on short covering after falling to a four-month low earlier in the session.
But all three markets were poised for weekly declines, soyabeans for the third consecutive week and corn and wheat for the fifth week in a row. "Profit taking hit these markets ahead of the weekend. It's been a very tough week, certainly for soyabeans after yesterday's slide," said Rich Nelson, chief strategist with consultancy Allendale Inc.
Chicago Board of Trade July soyabeans rose 9 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $14.24-1/4 a bushel by 10:47 am CDT (1547 GMT) after failing to breach technical support at its 100-day moving average of $14.11-1/4. CBOT July corn added 4-1/2 cents, or 1 percent, to $4.48-1/2 a bushel. CBOT July wheat gained 4-1/4 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $5.89-1/2 per bushel after earlier hitting a four-month low of $5.83-1/2.
Nearby soyabean prices have fallen sharply over recent weeks but remained at a sizable premium to post-harvest prices due to very tight US supplies. The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) on Monday is expected to estimate the US soyabean crush in May at 126.984 million bushels, according to a Reuters poll. But analysts noted that the marketing-year-to-date crush was above a year ago and processors will need to cut back significantly this summer to meet the government's crushing estimate.
"Those NOPA crush estimates imply some pretty tough issues for the soyabean market for the next few weeks," Nelson said. The US Department of Agriculture on Thursday cut its forecast for US 2013/14 end-stocks to 125 million bushels, a 10-year low. Closely followed analytical firm Informa Economics trimmed its 2014 US soyabean acreage forecast at midmorning and left corn plantings unchanged from its previous estimate, but the report garnered little reaction in futures markets.