US soyabean prices rebounded on Wednesday after a two-day sell-off on talk of Chinese demand and worries that US farmers might not plant enough soyabeans this spring to meet global needs. But corn fell for a third day on long liquidation ahead of two US crop reports next week. Wheat followed corn lower, pressured by expectations of ample world supplies.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, May soyabeans settled up 10 cents at $13.55 per bushel. May corn ended near the day's lows, down 5-1/2 cents at $6.42 a bushel, while May wheat fell 6-1/4 cents at $6.36-1/4. Trade in all three commodities was light. Estimated volume in CBOT corn futures, the biggest of the grain markets, was about 30 percent below the prior 30-day average.
Soyabeans advanced on rumours that China bought two cargoes of US soyabeans. CBOT soyabean futures are up about 12 percent year-to-date on robust demand from China, the world's top soya buyer, coupled with projected crop shortfalls in South America. CBOT soyabeans set a six-month high on Monday.
"In a normal year, South American beans would outprice US beans during this time frame by $30 a tonne, (but) those types of discounts are not here. US beans are really rather competitive," said Roy Huckabay with the Linn Group, a Chicago brokerage. A strike by truckers in Argentina added to worries about the availability of South American soya supplies.
"I think the Argentine truck strike is getting some publicity," said Mike Zuzolo with Global Commodity Analytics in Lafayette, Indiana. "If the South American supplies are not available for increased purchases by China, that suggests you want to keep some premium for beans." China is on course to import 25 percent more soyabeans in the first half of this year than the first six months of 2010, an official think tank said. Summer-like weather in the US Midwest this month fuelled ideas that farmers are likely to plant corn aggressively, a factor that hung over the corn market and helped lift soyabeans.
"It does look like the (weather forecast) models have turned back to a warmer pattern, all the way into the end of the month," Zuzolo said. "That does promote some pretty good potential for corn acreage. We may be back on track in terms of trade sentiment that the planters will roll hard for corn, at the expense of beans," he added. The US Department of Agriculture will release a report of prospective US crop plantings on March 30.