US MIDDAY: soya drops

US soyabean futures fell 1.2 percent on Friday, pressured by profit taking and concerns about slowing demand from China, the world's top buyer of the oilseed, traders said. Wheat also fell, weighed down by light technical selling and seasonal harvest pressure, while corn firmed in consolidation trade.
The drop in soyabeans put the commodity on track for its fourth straight weekly loss, the longest stretch of declines since an equal streak that ended in early August of 2013.
"Beans are having trouble finishing the week on a positive note," INTL FCStone said in a note to clients. "The whole complex is down as China appears to be slowing on demand for feeding animals."
At 10:57 am CST (1557 GMT) CBOT July soyabeans were down 16-3/4 cents at $14.04 a bushel. Prices firmed during the overnight session but failed to hold support above their 100-day moving average.
New-crop soyabean contracts also weakened, but declines were limited by the unwinding of bull spreads as well as signs of overseas demand. The US Agriculture Department on Friday morning said exporters sold 110,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2014/15 crop year.
CBOT July corn was up 1-1/2 cents at $4.52 a bushel, with traders citing $4.50 as a key support point. CBOT July soft red winter wheat was 4-1/2 cents lower at $5.89 a bushel.
For the week, front-month soyabeans were down 1.5 percent, front-month corn was up 1.1 percent and front-month wheat was up 0.5 percent.
The weekly gains in corn and wheat would snap a five-week string of declines for both commodities.
Concerns about recent rains in the US Midwest and Plains hurting the quality of the mature wheat crop limited declines in wheat despite expectations of ample supplies following harvest.
"Precipitation is hurting the quality outlook for the already reduced supply of hard red winter wheat in the US - the US is already priced out of the international market so this doesn't necessarily warrant higher prices," Macquarie analyst Chris Gadd said.
"Our outlook remains bearish, the reality is the world looks well supplied."
The gains in corn were kept in check by expectations of good crop weather during the next few weeks. No signs of damaging heat were in the forecast for the US Midwest. The crop will start its key pollination phase of development in many areas in the next few weeks and high heat during that period can rob corn of its yield potential.