Chicago soybean futures rose more than 1% on Monday, bouncing back after four straight sessions of falls to a near two-month low, although gains were curbed by expectations of improved crop weather in the United States and concerns about demand.
Corn and wheat futures edged higher.
“It is up and down depending on the U.S. weather and as of now, we are more bearish on prices due to the production outlook,” said one Singapore-based trader. “Demand destruction is also an issue.”
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade (CBOT) climbed 1.1% to $13.04-1/2 a bushel by 0349 GMT, having closed down 2.2% on Friday when prices hit a June 28 low.
Corn gained 0.4% to $5.39 a bushel and wheat rose 0.7% to $7.33 a bushel.
Beneficial rains this weekend in the Dakotas and surrounding U.S. crop areas aid crops that have struggled with months of dryness.
The Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour last week projected that U.S. farmers would harvest a corn crop of 15.116 billion bushels and a soybean crop of 4.436 billion bushels, both larger than the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest estimates.
Worries about demand are keeping a lid on soybean prices.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to recommend to the White House reducing federal biofuel blending mandates for 2021 to below 2020 levels, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, in what would be a blow to the biofuels industry.
Large speculators raised their net long position in CBOT corn futures in the week to Aug. 17, regulatory data released on Friday showed.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, trimmed their net short position in CBOT wheat and net long position in soybeans.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)