Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures settled mixed on Wednesday, with August up on firm US cash bids and deferred lower on positioning ahead of Thursday's key US Department of Agriculture crop data, brokers said.
"Forecasts for warmer US temperatures were also bearish," one CBOT trader said. Recent cool temperatures across the US Midwest soya belt, including record lows in the high-40s to low-50s (Fahrenheit) on Wednesday in Iowa and central Illinois, have prompted worries about yield loss.
The US soyabean crop is in the heart of its pod-setting and pod-filling stage, when moderate temperatures and adequate rains are crucial for attaining good final yields, he noted. CBOT soyabean futures settled up 6-1/2 cents to down 10 cents per bushel, with August up 6-1/2 cents at $6.37 and November down 7-1/4 cents at $5.54-3/4.
Spot August was pressured by the posting of 214 deliveries by a Man Financial customer and talk of additional deliveries on Wednesday, both seen as indications of adequate near-term soyameal supplies, CBOT brokers said.
A RJ O'Brien customer stopped 109 deliveries and a Prudential Securities customer stopped 66 lots. Soyameal registrations with the CBOT jumped to 291 lots late on Tuesday from the previous 77 lots.
The August soyameal contract will expire at noon (1700 GMT) on Friday. Cash US soyameal basis offers were steady to firm on Wednesday, brokers said. In global soyameal export business, South Korea bought 55,000 tonnes of South American soyameal.
Soyaoil futures closed up 0.40 cent to down 0.03 cent per lb, with August up 0.40 cent at 23.15 and December up 0.07 cent at 20.97 cents, brokers said.
Most contracts ended firm on concerns that cold temperatures in the upper Midwest would lower oil content in this year's soya crop, but gains were capped by losses in neighbouring soyameal and soyabeans, brokers said.
Commercial Produce Grain was a net buyer of 300 December soyaoil and 200 October soyaoil, they added. Rival Malaysian palm oil futures closed narrowly mixed.
One soyaoil delivery was posted on Wednesday against the CBOT August soyaoil contract. An Iowa Grain customer issued the soyaoil and an ADM Investor Services customer stopped it.
Soyaoil registrations were unchanged at 2,974 lots. The August soyaoil contract also expires on Friday. The CBOT August soyabean futures crush margin ended on Wednesday down 21.90 cents at 31.91 cents per bushel and the September margin ended down 2.43 cents at 80.35 cents.
On Wednesday's estimated CBOT volume for soyabean futures was 40,241 contracts, compared with Tuesday's trade of 30,660 lots.