Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures closed firm on Wednesday in a choppy, pre-holiday-type market, traders said. The exchange closed on Wednesday, at noon CST, and will remain closed on Thursday for the US Thanksgiving holiday. CBOT markets will also close on Friday.
January soyabeans ended 1 cent higher at $6.74 per bushel, after trading both sides of Wednesday's settlement price. At one point, January climbed 7-1/2 cents to $6.80-1/2 surpassing last week's $6.77-3/4 top and nearby resistance at $6.79.
The back months ended steady to up 2-1/4 cents after most made contract highs.
Soyabeans fell shortly after a higher open when corn faltered and soyabean oil prices consolidated. The soya market is a follower of corn, given the burdensome supply of soyabeans and shrinking stockpile of corn due to the booming ethanol industry. When corn bounced late, soyabeans followed. The current soya/corn price relationship is enticing farmers to plant a lot more corn in the spring of 2007 at the expense of fewer soyabeans.
There's also a seasonal tendency for soyabeans to close higher the day before Thanksgiving, traders said. "In the last 30 years, 77 percent of the time soyabeans closed higher the day before Thanksgiving," said Vice Lesbians, floor broker with AG Edwards. Strong demand for vegetable oils globally remains a supportive feature. The price of oil in China has climbed about 25 percent in the past week on good demand.
The crushing pace is off in China amid lacklustre demand for soyameal, analysts said. Soyaoil spent most of the session higher, getting an extra boost from some positioning after roughly 4,400 December 29.00-cent call options were exercised the day following expiration. Oil turned mixed late on profit taking after reaching contract highs in nearly all months in the session.
CBOT December soyaoil closed 0.01 cent lower at 28.87 cents per lb., with the back months up 0.05 to down 0.10 cent. The soyameal market consolidated. December closed 10 cents up at $192.10, with the back months up 10 to 80 cents.
Commodity funds bought about 1,000 soyabean futures and were light buyers of soyaoil and soyameal of 500-1,000 lots, traders said. In exports, the US Agriculture Department on Wednesday confirmed the sale of 122,000 tonnes of US soya to China for 2006-07 delivery.
There also was talk of fresh Chinese interest in US soyabeans, traders said. Spot basis bids for soyabeans were steady late on Wednesday, underpinned by quiet farmer sales ahead of the holiday. The US harvest was virtually complete, except for some areas of the eastern belt, where soggy fields have stalled farmers.
The weather was expected to clear this week, which should help farmers wrap up. Next week should turn wet again, say Meteorlogix weather service. Malaysian palm oil closed lower on profit taking after this week's rally and Indonesian palm eased in thin trade.
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