Soyabeans fall 2.5 percent

US soyabean futures tumbled more than 2.5 percent on Monday, reversing similar gains from the previous session, as a record-fast harvest pace and reports of larger-than-expected yields pressured prices. Wheat futures dropped 2 percent, the fifth decline in six sessions, in a profit-taking setback and as rain forecast for the drought-parched US Plains was expected to boost winter wheat seeding.
Corn futures traded mixed as spillover pressure from sharply lower soya and wheat offset lingering support from a US government report on Friday that showed stockpiles of the grain had dropped. US corn surged by the daily trading limit on Friday, jumping 5.6 percent after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) shocked markets with a report that end-of-season stocks tumbled 12 percent from a year ago, coming in under 1 billion bushels for the first time in eight years.
Soyabeans added nearly 2 percent on Friday despite a larger-than-expected USDA stocks figure, while wheat gained 5.5 percent in the steepest rally in three months as the USDA reported an unexpected drop in US wheat stocks. The corn and soyabean harvests maintained a record pace as dry weather allowed farmers to notch their best crop-gathering week of the year. After the market closed, USDA said US corn was 54 percent harvested as of Sunday while 41 percent of soyabeans were harvested.
Soya futures prices also came under pressure from more reports of stronger-than-anticipated soyabean yields as timely August rains in many areas revived the crop after the summer's severe drought. Rain in soyabean production areas of Brazil, where farmers were preparing to plant what may be a record-large crop, also weighed on soya prices. Brazilian analysts Celeres raised their forecast for the country's soya crop by nearly 1 million tonnes to a record 79.08 million tonnes. Benchmark November soyabeans on the Chicago Board of Trade fell for the third time in four sessions, declining 40-3/4 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $15.60-1/4 per bushel.
CBOT December corn rose to a two-week high of $7.68-1/2 a bushel but settled up just 1/2 cent at $7.56-3/4. Wheat prices plunged in a profit-taking pullback from Friday's sharp gains, which were triggered by an unexpected drop in wheat stocks in a USDA report, and as weekend rains soaked key areas of the US Plains hard red winter wheat belt. CBOT December soft red winter wheat fell 18-1/4 cents to $8.84-1/4 a bushel, a 2-percent decline that was the steepest in two weeks.