Soyabean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade closed lower on Thursday, reacting to prospects that US soyabeans benefited from recent Midwest rains and hopes that crops will benefit more by additional rains, traders said.
August soyabeans settled 2-1/2 cents lower at $6.41 per bushel and new-crop November was down 2-1/2 cents at $6.50-1/4. Soyabeans lost ground to corn, which closed about 1-2 cents higher.
August rains were seen benefiting corn less than soyabeans, as corn went through July pollination during one of the hottest, driest summers in the eastern Midwest since 1988.
However, August is the critical yield-determining month for the soyabean crop as it sets and fills pods. "The markets are reacting to the weather.
The weather comes a little too late to help corn, maybe," said Roy Huckabay, analyst with The Linn Group in Chicago. During most of the session, prices were range-bound as traders evened positions before the USDA released its monthly crop reports.
The trade expects the government to cut its US 2005 soya crop estimate after this summer's drought in the eastern Midwest, but estimates were wide-ranging on how much the government will cut its projection.
On average, analysts expect the government to trim 86 million bushels from its July forecast of 2.89 billion. US weekly export sales tally was disappointing but within trade expectations.
USDA on Thursday reported that 154,000 tonnes (old-crop and new-crop combined) of US soya were sold for export last week, compared with trade estimates for 100,000 to 250,000 tonnes.
Old-crop net sales of 92,000 tonnes were 21 percent below last week's tally but 55 percent above the four-week average. China remained off the list of buyers. US Midwest basis bids for soyabeans were mixed on Thursday amid quiet farmer sales, dealers said. There were 68 deliveries on the August soya contract on Thursday.
Customers of First Options and ABN Amro stopped the entire soya. Registrations with the CBOT unchanged at 1,124 lots. The soya-product markets kept range-bound ahead of USDA crop reports.
The soyameal gained on soyaoil with the oil market under pressure from technical sales, traders said. August soyameal settled 40 cents lower at $207.60 per ton, while the deferred were steady to up $1.
August soyaoil was down 0.05 cent per lb. at 22.67 cents, with the back months mostly lower. US weekly export sales data was bearish for soyameal and supportive for soyaoil, traders said.
USDA reported that 43,300 tonnes (old-crop and new-crop combined) of US soyameal were sold for export last week. That was below the range of estimates for 50,000 to 110,000 tonnes.
US soyaoil sales reached 13,300 tonnes (old-crop) of US soyaoil, compared with exports for 1,000 to 5,000 tonnes. There were no August soyameal deliveries and CBOT meal registrations remained at zero. Soyaoil deliveries against the August totalled 165 lots and there were scattered stopping of the soyaoil with the Bungle house account taking 58 lots.
Soyaoil registrations with the CBOT were unchanged at 2,934 lots. Malaysian palm oil futures closed firm overnight.
Palm gained after the government declared an emergency in two areas of a major oil palm growing state due to worsening haze resulting from Indonesian forest fires, traders in Kuala Lumpur said.