US soyabean futures surged to a five-month high on Tuesday as adverse weather in South America fuelled concerns about smaller crops in key exporters Brazil and Argentina. Wheat rose for a third consecutive session, underpinned by technical momentum from recent gains and worries that a harsh winter may cut production in the United States. Analysts at Brazilian consultancy AgRural shaved 1.8 million tonnes off their estimate for Brazil's 2013-14 soyabean crop on Monday, saying drought in much of the country in recent weeks had reduced yields.
AgRural now expects a crop of 87 million tonnes, down from 88.8 million tonnes previously and well below the US Department of Agriculture estimate for 90 million tonnes. In Argentina's main soyabean-growing region, weeks of heavy rain have encouraged the spread of caterpillars that are eating into the 2013/14 season's crop yields, a climate expert said on Monday.
Chicago Board of Trade March soyabeans jumped 22-3/4 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $13.60-1/4 per bushel by 10:30 am CST (1630 GMT), the highest for a spot-month contract since September 19. CBOT March wheat rose 9 cents, or 1.5 percent, to a six-week peak of $6.07-1/2 a bushel. CBOT March corn added 2-1/4 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $4.47-1/2 a bushel.
Comments
Comments are closed.