Soyabeans drop

US soyabean futures slid on Monday as increased imports of the oilseed from South America were expected to alleviate tight supplies in the United States, the world's top producer of the crop. Wheat futures jumped after touching a three-week low in the previous session. Traders worried that unfavourably dry conditions will persist in key growing areas of the US Plains, threatening the upcoming harvest.
Concerns about low soyabean supplies eased with traders "talking about even more being imported" after a bulk shipment of Brazilian soyabeans arrived at the US Gulf Coast on Saturday, said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading. "Anything's possible in terms of bringing it in to the country," he said. US soya supplies have been gobbled up by domestic crushers and foreign buyers like China, the world's top importer of the oilseed.
Private exporters struck deals to sell 120,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to China for delivery in the 2014/15 marketing year, which starts on September 1, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. Chicago Board of Trade May soyabeans dropped 9-1/2 cents, or 0.6 percent, to settle at $14.64-1/4 a bushel. CBOT May wheat futures gained 6-1/2 cents, or 1 percent, to $6.76-1/4 a bushel. They had lost 3.7 percent last week, falling 0.9 percent to a three-week low on Friday as rain forecasts eased crop concerns.
Weekend rains in the US Plains breadbasket were lighter than expected, and there were doubts that an upcoming storm system would bring significant relief to the crops. The USDA delayed until Tuesday the release of its first weekly crop-progress report of 2014, which was expected to show a decline in US winter wheat condition ratings due to persistent dryness. Analysts estimated the crop's good-to-excellent rating at roughly 35 to 40 percent, compared with 62 percent in late November, and 36 percent a year ago.
"It has deteriorated quite a bit," said Art Liming, futures specialist with Citigroup, about the crop. Technical buying helped underpin the wheat market ahead of a monthly USDA supply/demand report on Wednesday that is expected to tighten the government's outlooks for US supplies of wheat, corn and soyabeans. CBOT May corn slipped 2-1/2 cents, or 0.5 percent, to settle at $4.99-1/4. Commodity funds sold an estimated 6,000 corn contracts, bought 4,000 wheat contracts and sold 5,000 soyabean contracts, traders said.