Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures settled lower on Tuesday as active US harvesting and talk of good US yields offset enthusiasm about overnight US soyabean sales to China, brokers said.
Traders continued to watch the path of Hurricane Ivan for any signs that the southern harvest or grains export business at the Gulf of Mexico might be affected. The hurricane could make landfall between Louisiana and Florida by midweek,
Soyabean futures closed down 3 cents to 6-3/4 cents, with spot November down 5-1/2 cents at $5.65-1/2 and January down 6 cents at $5.73. Commodity funds were about net even, while commercials were light net buyers, brokers said.
Cargill Inc and Rand Financial each bought 400 November while Reface Inc sold about 300 November, brokers said. Along with worries about the path of the powerful Category Five hurricanes, CBOT traders noted fundamental inputs had been mixed for CBOT soya pricing on Tuesday.
CBOT soyameal futures closed down $1.40 per ton to up 60 cents, with spot October down $1.40 at $165.00 and December down 60 cents at $167.20 per ton. Commodity funds were light net sellers while commercials were about even after relatively active trade, brokers said.
Cash US soyameal basis offers were weak on Tuesday brokers said. Losses were limited as US spot export soyameal prices have become competitive with South American prices, brokers said.
After the close, the CCC said it sought 12,500 tonnes of soyameal for Vietnam. Soyaoil futures closed down 0.56 cent per lb to unchanged, with spot October down 0.56 cent at 22.95 cents and December down 0.52 cent at 22.63 cents.
NOPA reported its members' August soyaoil stocks at 868.556 million pounds versus July's 1.023 billion pounds, a supportive factor, brokers said. Light pressured stemmed from overnight losses in rival Malaysian palm oil futures, some traders said.
The NOPA August soyaoil yield was put at 11.59 pounds per bushel, above the July yield of 11.37 pounds per bushel. CBOT September soya futures expired, with September beans down 1 cent at $5.60, September soyameal down $6.20 at $166.00 per ton, and September soyaoil down 1.09 cent at 23.20 cents per lb.
There were no deliveries posted on Tuesday against the CBOT September beans and soyameal and 50 deliveries posted against September soyaoil. The CBOT November/October crush margin ended down 3.74 cents at 49.95 cents. Trade was on the lighter side. Estimated soyabean volume was 37,276 futures and 25,337 options. In soyameal, an estimated 17,840 futures and 2,151 options traded. Soyaoil trade was pegged at 23,548 futures and 4,684 options.