US soybean futures fell in quiet dealings on Friday, with profit-taking countering bullish input from big soy exports and shrinking soy supplies. Corn sagged along with soy on improved seeding weather forecast for next week in the United States, while wheat dropped on slow US exports and a big global stockpile.
"For the week we're up in beans, so there's profit-taking now. Also, the outside markets are mixed, so there's no clear direction," said Vic Lespinasse, an analyst for GrainAnalyst.com. At 10:51 am CDT (1551 GMT), soy for July delivery was down 7 cents at $11.40-1/2 per bushel, July corn was down 2-1/2 at $4.25-3/4 and July wheat was down 7-3/4 at $5.85-1/2 per bushel.
Traders said the markets were seeking direction after notching gains this week following a US Agriculture Department bullish forecast for US ending supplies of corn and soybeans. Spot July wheat was flat for the week, soybeans were up 3 percent and July corn up 2 percent. Corn prices also were being underpinned by wet weather that was slowing seedings in the United States and threatening to trim 2009 corn production, but the planting pace should accelerate next week.
"Weather looks better for next week for planting," Lespinasse said. Traders and analysts said the waning supply of soy, low soy yields in drought-stricken South America and aggressive buying of soybeans by China remain central to the direction of soybean futures. "There are some worries about China slowing down bean purchases," Lespinasse said.
China may begin slowing its pace of soybean buying, but early on Thursday the USDA, in its weekly export sales report, showed continued brisk exports of US soy and also said China bought an additional 120,000 tonnes of soy for shipment in the new-crop (2009/10) marketing year that begins on September 1.
"The US soy market remains strong, supported by Chinese buying that continues to be substantial and weekly exports that were above trade expectations," French grains consultancy Agritel said in a note. "The yields in South America are not getting any better and apparently the quality is pretty ordinary," said Paul McKay, a director with Commodity Broking Services in Australia.