Chicago Board of Trade soybeans were narrowly mixed on Tuesday, with pressure from light speculative sales and a lack of fresh US soy export news offset by concerns about US soy supplies, traders said.
"We're sitting here with one of the largest (speculative) net long positions in history, if you look at the commitment of traders' report with options," said Terry Roggensack, analyst at The Hightower Report in Chicago. "On the other hand, the market is looking at a lack of rationing and the potential for more bullish numbers next week."
CBOT soybeans were last up 3-1/2 cents to down 2 cents, with January up 1-3/4 cents at $7.98-1/2 and bellwether March unchanged at $8.00-1/2 per bushel. Refco Inc sold 400 March, O'Connor and Co sold 100 March, and ADM Investor Services and Fimat Futures bought 100 March, traders said.
March traded in a relatively narrow range, with technical support holding at Monday's low of $7.90 and resistance holding at Monday's high of $8.06, traders said.
The CFTC reported on Monday that large speculators remained net long CBOT soybean futures during the week ended Tuesday, December 30 by a more than 5-to-1 ratio.
For futures and options combined, large speculators were also net long by more than 5-to-1 - fund longs totalled 71,292 lots, up 7,765, and shorts totalled 13,193, down 496 from the previous week.
Soyoil deliveries on Tuesday totalled 18 lots, with the ADM house account stopping all 18 contracts. Registrations of soyoil with the CBOT late Monday totalled 4,885 lots, unchanged from the previous day.
CBOT soymeal futures were last up 70 cents per ton to down $1.10, with March down 30 cents at $245.00 per ton. Cash US soymeal basis offers were steady, dealers said.
CBOT soyoil was last up 0.10 cent per lb to down 0.05 cent, with March soyoil up 0.07 at 28.56 cents per lb. A weak close in rival Malaysian palm oil futures limited early gains, traders said.