US soyabean futures declined by more than 2 percent on Thursday, on pace for their largest losses in three months, on profit-taking tied to lower vegoil prices and extended weather outlooks for rainfall in Argentina, traders and analysts said. US President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to run the nation's Environmental Protection Agency also sparked worries of reduced support for corn-based ethanol and soya-based biodiesel.
US renewable fuel credits fell sharply following the EPA news. Chicago Board of Trade January soyabean futures were off 24 cents at $10.25 per bushel at 10:55 am CST (1655 GMT), reversing three straight days of gains. Brazil's government crop supply agency estimated the country's soya harvest at a record 102.45 million tonnes. Dry parts of Argentina may see rains within the next two weeks, agriculture meteorologists said.
Also, the US Department of Agriculture on Friday is expected to boost supply expectations for Brazil and Argentina soyabean production and narrowly reduce US soya ending stocks, according to Reuters' analyst poll. Price declines for soyaoil and palm oil added to pressure on soyabeans, according to EFG Group analyst Tom Fritz.
The USDA soyabean data will "be a reminder that we have the supply to meet what is really good demand, and then some," Fritz said. CBOT March wheat jumped 1.3 percent, or 5 cents, to $4.06 per bushel, while CBOT March corn was down 6-1/2 cents at $3.51-1/2. Wheat climbed after Saudi Arabia said it was seeking global offers for 715,000 tonnes of hard wheat for delivery between February 1 and April 10.
India also scrapped its 10 percent import duty on wheat on Thursday after droughts in the past two years depleted stocks and raised prices. Traders said the move could lift import purchases to their highest in a decade. "The Indian government's decision is likely to generate more wheat imports at a time of generally weak global demand," said Matt Ammermann, commodity risk manager for INTL FCStone. "Now the question is all about timing on how much wheat and when India will import.
"Ukrainian wheat is still looking good, but US wheat is looking competitive against Russia and Argentina in FOB terms." Indian wheat prices hit a record high last month. The nation's finance minister told parliament the latest cut was effective immediately, with no end date.