US soybean and grain futures drifted in a narrow range on Monday as the dollar gained and traders showed caution ahead of a US plantings forecast due at the end of the month. Japanese traders were sidelined because of a public holiday while the rest of the market weighed up bearish fundamentals as the dollar strengthened on continued worries about the Greek debt crisis and its impact on the euro.
The dollar index held near Friday's two-week high as uncertainty over Greece and a surprise rate hike by India kept investors cautious about riskier assets, but it lacked momentum to push higher. "Early price action was slightly firmer but grains were primarily flat," said Luke Mathews, a commodities analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures for May delivery fell 0.18 percent to $9.60 per bushel by 0425 GMT, May corn was flat at $3.74-1/2 per bushel while wheat for May delivery gained 0.16 percent to $4.84-1/2 per bushel. The general mood is bearish with predictions of another year of big crops in the United States barring adverse weather events, while large crops in South America - the biggest exporter of corn and soybeans outside the United States - are also suppressing prices.
Most of the focus remains on planting intentions in the United States, he added. The USDA will release its annual seedings report on March 31. It is expected to show that US farmers will plant more of their land to corn and soybeans this year than they did in 2009 because of optimism surrounding the demand for each crop. Informa estimated 2010 US soybean acreage at 78.6 million, up from last year's 77.5 million and above USDA's 2010 outlook forum figure of 77.0 million.
US wheat and corn futures fell on Friday as a rising dollar weighed, but grains prices retained some support as concerns mounted about wet conditions around the US Midwest. Rains and snow forecast this week for US Midwest may cause delays in fieldwork for planting corn and soybeans, while the wet weather will be beneficial for the winter wheat crop in the Plains, said Mike Palmerino, forecaster at Telvent-DTN Weather.
"Much of the precipitation in the Midwest during this week will be over southern portions of the belt as the main storm track remains to the south of the Midwest," Palmerino said. "There are indications that the main storm track will be shifting northward into the main growing areas of the Midwest over the weekend and next week."