US soyabean futures fell on Tuesday to a more than one-year low, weighed down by favourable crop conditions and weather that point to a bumper harvest. Corn prices were mixed and US wheat rebounded modestly after the previous day's one-year low. "For summer crops right now, the path of least resistance is lower because there's just not a legitimate weather threat out there now," said Shawn McCambridge, an analyst at Jefferies Bache in Chicago.
Chicago Board of Trade August soyabeans, in delivery mode, dipped 0.4 percent, or 5-1/2 cents, to $13.24-1/4 per bushel, touching the lowest nearby price since June 2012. New-crop November soyabeans fell 1.4 percent, or 16 cents, to $11.67-1/4 a bushel. "The trade is (seeing) a large increase in production this year and the stocks year over year, and I think it's still weighing on the market," said Bill Nelson, an analyst at Doane Advisory Services.
Weakness in US stocks and in crude oil, tied to soyabeans and corn through biofuels markets, hung over the crops. Nelson said the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) statement that it would use its authority to lower the volume goal for biofuel use in 2014 added to the negative tone around soyabeans. Soyabean oil is used to make biodiesel.
Condition ratings for US corn and soyabeans edged higher in the latest week, spurred by improving crop health in Illinois, US Department of Agriculture data showed on Monday after US markets had closed.
The USDA said good-to-excellent ratings, the highest ranking, for both corn and soyabeans rose 1 percentage point to 64 percent as of August 4, slightly beating market forecasts. Chicago September corn rose 0.6 percent, or 3 cents, to $4.72-1/4 per bushel, bouncing modestly after matching the previous day's lowest nearby price since October 2010, supported by tight old-crop stocks.
New-crop December corn slid 0.3 percent, or 1-1/4 cents, to $4.59-1/4 a bushel. Investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc boosted its forecast of the US corn crop on Tuesday due to good crop weather, and lowered its price forecast for CBOT corn to $4.25 per bushel from its previous forecast of $4.75. Corn in west-central Iowa, the top US corn state, was on track for big yields but needs rain to ensure that grain kernels fill out to their full potential, surveyors on an annual crop tour reported on Tuesday. CBOT September wheat gained 0.8 percent, or 5-1/4 cents, to $6.50-1/2 a bushel after slumping to a low of $6.41-1/2 on Monday, the weakest level for a nearby contract since June 2012.
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