Soyabean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were lower early on Friday on follow-through selling, with abundant stocks of soya overhanging prices, traders said. September soyabeans were down 2 cents at $5.49-1/2 per bushel and new-crop November was 1-1/4 lower at $5.63-3/4 by 10:40 am CDT (1540 GMT).
US soya stocks will build once harvest gets under way this fall. Mild weather during August has improved yield outlooks. August is the critical time for the US soyabean crop as it sets and fills pods. Meteorlogix weather on Friday said rainfall in the US Midwest over the next five days would favour filling crops. There is no significant cold weather in sight. Pro Farmer, a farmer group and organiser of a crop tour of seven Midwest states that began Monday, will release its estimate of the 2006 soyabean crop after the markets close on Friday.
John Deere Pro Farmer crop scouts said overnight Thursday that rains in August boosted US soya production potential while hot weather in July likely trimmed corn yield prospects. The tour's corn yield projections for Iowa and Minnesota matched the year-on-year trends in USDA's August 1 crop production report, but the tour's soyabean pod counts indicated better yields than the government has estimated, tour scouts said overnight.
Statistics Canada on Friday said Canadian canola production this year would total 7.98 million tonnes, down 17.4 percent from last year's 9.66 million. Soyabean production will be up 0.1 percent to 3.163 million tonnes versus 3.161 million last year.
Spot basis bids for soyabeans in the Midwest early Friday held firm amid light scattered sales of old-crop supply as government loans come due, dealers said. CBOT soyameal was losing ground to soyaoil as the meal/oil spread adjusted after the weakness in soyaoil on Thursday. Soyaoil was pressured by record large US soyaoil stocks in July reported by the US Census Bureau on Thursday.
In soyameal, firm US cash markets as Midwest processors take downtime before the start of the Midwest harvest underpinned futures. September soyameal was down 70 cents at $161.10 per ton, with the deferreds down $1 to up 60 cents. September soyaoil was up 0.13 cent at 25.11 cents per lb, with the back months up 0.12 to 0.33.