Wednesday, 29 July 2015 00:24
WINNIPEG: Chicago soybean and wheat futures bounced on Tuesday, rising on bargain-buying and short-covering after recent lows, while corn was steady.
Nearby soybeans fell for three straight sessions through Monday, shedding nearly 6 percent as weather improved for crop development across the US Midwest.
“We’ve just plain hit (soybeans) hard for the last week or so and we’re just seeing a little buying coming back in,” said Karl Setzer, market analyst at Iowa-based MaxYield Cooperative.
August soybeans gained 13 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $ 9.74-1/4 a bushel by 10:09 a.m. CDT (1509 GMT).
Soybeans received further support from US Agriculture Department report on Monday that showed national good-to-excellent ratings for the crop held steady compared with market expectations for a slight bump.
The USDA said 62 percent of the US soybean crop was in good to excellent condition, same as last week but below the previous year’s 71 percent.
September wheat added 4-3/4 cents, or 1 percent, to $ 5.07-1/4, following a drop to a one-month low on Monday.
The USDA said 85 percent of the winter wheat crop has been harvested, up from 75 percent a week ago and higher than an 80 percent average of the last five years. Chicago front-month corn edged up 1/2 cent to $ 3.73-1/2 a bushel, after touching 3.71, its lowest level since June 25.
Corn prices are struggling due to improving US weather, Setzer said.
The condition of US corn improved slightly last week with 70 percent of the crop rated good to excellent as compared with 69 percent the week before, although it was still well below the 75 percent seen a year ago, the USDA said.
Forecasts are for scattered showers in the US grain belt over the next 10 days.
Excessive rain had raised concerns about crop development, with corn rallying 18 percent in June.
