Chicago Board of Trade soya futures ended mixed on Wednesday, with old-crop July soyabeans lower on weakening US cash bids and long liquidation after early gains on worries about a 27-year low in US soy stocks by August 31, brokers said.
"The soybean basis broke 10 to 30 cents at midday," one CBOT floor broker said. "The bids fell most sharply in Minnesota and Sioux City, but bids at one Illinois location fell 10 cents at midday."
US soybean stocks are projected to fall to a 27-year low by August 31, the end of the 2003/04 US soybean marketing year, and profitable processors would like to own enough soybeans to be able to continue crushing as long as possible this summer, CBOT traders said.
CBOT soyabeans settled down 18 cents to up 9-1/2 cents per bushel, with July down 18 cents at $9.61-1/2 and November up 8-1/2 cents at $6.60-1/2.
CBOT August soyabeans briefly ran up its daily trading limit of 50 cents per bushel, but closed up 2 cents at $8.21-1/2. Commodity funds bought about 5,000 CBOT soybean lots and commercials were net sellers, brokers said.
The US Department of Agriculture reported on Tuesday that the US soy crop was 67 percent in good to excellent condition, up one percentage point from last week's rating.
CBOT soyameal futures closed down $4.90 to up $4.50 per ton, with July down $4.90 at $339.80 and December up $3.80 at $208.50 per ton. July soyameal hit a new contract and 31-year high of $378.50 per ton, while the key CBOT old-crop July/new-crop December soyameal spread ended at $144.50 per ton, premium July.
CBOT soyaoil futures settled up 0.05 cent to down 0.55 cent per lb, with July up 0.05 cent at 29.10 cents and December down 0.48 cent at 23.63.
Commodity funds bought at least 1,500 lots and commercials were net sellers, brokers said. A firm close overnight in rival Malaysian palm oil futures limited CBOT losses, they said.