Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures were mostly lower on Tuesday on good US crop prospects except for spot August soybeans which bounced on technically oversold signs, brokers said.
The nine-day relative strength index for August soybeans of 14 before Tuesday's opening bell indicated oversold conditions, they said. Traders consider a nine-day RSI below 30 to reflect an oversold market.
CBOT soybean futures were last up 9-1/2 cents to down 14-1/4 cents per bushel, with August up 9-1/2 cents at $7.17 and November down 14-3/4 cents at $6.33.
Cargill Inc and Refco Inc were early buyers of August soybeans, while Caylon Financial sold 1,000 November early, brokers said.
Good crop weather in the US Midwest weighed on the deferred new-crop contracts, brokers said.
The US Department of Agriculture reported late Monday that 68 percent of the US soybean crop was in good to excellent condition, unchanged from the previous week. The weekly rating matched last year's rating for the same week, but was well above the all-year average of 59.3 percent, noted Bill Nelson, analyst for A.G. Edwards.
Extrapolating Monday's state crop condition ratings, Nelson forecast a potential USDA August US soybean yield, not the final US soybean yield forecast, just above the 1994 record of 41.4 bushels per acre.
The current USDA 2004 US soybean crop yield forecast is 39.9 bushels per acre.
"We must sober this view with the acknowledgement that there has been some disappointing weather to hit the soybean crop many times during August," Nelson said. "Last year is Exhibit A, when final yields were down six bushels per acre from August."
CBOT soymeal futures were last up $1.70 to down $6.20 per ton, with August up $1.70 at $243.70 and December down $6.00 at $196.00 per ton. Produce Grain and Cargill Investor Services each bought 200 August and Prudential Securities bought 100 August, brokers said.
Cash US soymeal basis offers were weak on Tuesday, dealers said.
CBOT soyoil futures were last down 0.58 cent per lb to unchanged, with August down 0.18 cent at 26.10 cents and December down 0.57 cent at 23.28.
ADM Investor Services sold 100 August, ABN Amro bought 100 December and Cargill Inc bought 200 December and sold 100 September, brokers said.
CBOT soyoil losses were limited on Tuesday by a firm close in rival Malaysian palm oil futures and concerns about a poor monsoon season this year in India, the world's top vegetable oil importer, brokers said.