Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures fell on Friday, on track for their ninth straight day of losses, as concerns about the coronavirus cutting into Chinese demand beat back any attempts at a bargain-buying bounce, traders said.
A nine-session losing streak would be the longest for the most-active soyabean futures contract since a 10-day stretch that ended on July 11, 2014, when good weather across the US Midwest bolstered crop prospects during key development periods.
Corn futures edged higher on technical buying while wheat eased as the coronavirus spread put investors in a risk-off mode ahead of the weekend. At 9:49 a.m CST (1449 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade March soyabean futures were down 1 cent at $8.75-1/4 a bushel.
Corn futures were up 1-1/4 cents at $3.80-3/4 a bushel, finding technical support after nearing Thursday's low of $3.78-1/2 a bushel. The corn market also was bolstered by fresh signs of good export demand.
The US Agriculture Department on Friday morning said that private exporters reported the sale of 134,000 tonnes of corn for delivery to South Korea in the 2019/20 marketing year. But USDA noted that the optional-origin contract allowed for the corn to be sourced from the United States or other countries.
CBOT March soft red winter wheat futures were 3/4 cent lower at $5.59-3/4 a bushel.
For the month, soyabean futures were down 8.5%, on track for their biggest monthly drop since August 2018. Soyabeans have fallen in 11 of the 12 sessions since Washington and Beijing inked a Phase 1 trade deal, with analysts noting skepticism that China can meet the purchase commitments made in the pact. CBOT wheat futures have risen 0.1% in January while corn futures were down 1.9%.