The Chicago Board of Trade soyabean market closed higher on Monday amid changing weather outlooks that sparked short covering before the US holiday, traders said. CBOT agricultural markets will be closed on Tuesday for the Fourth of July and reopen with the night e-session.
"Its first day of the month before the holiday, keeping trade volatile the conflicting weather models are limiting the sell paper," said one CBOT trader.
The market revived at midday when some extended Midwest forecasts for the eight-to-10-day period turned hotter and drier. July soyabeans closed 6-3/4 cents higher at $6.01-1/2 per bushel. The deferred months were 2 to 8 cents higher.
Strength was tied to lingering support from Friday's USDA report that showed US farmers planted fewer soyabeans than traders expected and conflicting weather forecasts for the Midwest did. The European weather model for the six-to-10-day period was hotter and drier than the US model, forecasters said, referring to outlooks issued on Monday.
"The European model would suggest the on Saturday to Wednesday time frame to continue mainly dry and mainly above-normal temperatures. Whereas the US model would be dry with above-normal temperatures for the first two to three days of that period but then introduce scattered showers and cooler temperatures," said Meteorlogix forecaster Joel Burg.
Traders expected the US Agriculture Department on Monday afternoon to report US soyabean condition ratings about unchanged from last week's rating of 67 percent good to excellent. There was little reaction to USA's report on Friday that soyabean rust was found in a sentinel plot of soyabeans in Alabama, the second discovery of the fungus on US soyabeans this year.
On a bearish note, there were heavy deliveries of 1,788 posted against July soyabeans on Monday.
The soya products were mixed, with soyameal following soyabeans higher and gaining on soyaoil as the oil/meal adjusted after soyaoil rallied last week.
The deferred months in soyaoil were especially strong last week, which was tied to prospects for US biodiesel production expanding in the coming years. July soyameal closed $1.10 per ton higher at $175.70, with the deferreds up 70 cents to $3.30.
July soyaoil ended 0.19 cent per lb lower at 26.17 cents, with the back months mostly down 0.12 cent lower to 0.13 higher. Commodity funds bought 3,000 soyabean contracts, 1,500 soyameal and 500 soyaoil lots.
Commercials were featured sellers in soyaoil and there were some commercial sales in soyabeans, traders said. In the delivery market for the products, there were 623 soyameal deliveries and 840 soyaoil postings.
But there was heavy stopping of soyameal and soyaoil deliveries. A customer of Tenneco, likely commercial, stopped 317-soyameal deliveries and the ADM Investor Services house account took 631 soyaoil deliveries.
Trade data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed that large speculators expanded their net short position in CBOT soyabean and soyameal futures/options for the week ended June 27. In soyaoil, funds increased their net long position in futures/options combined. Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed higher overnight on Chinese demand and firm soyaoil prices in Chicago.