US soyabean futures rose on Friday on technical buying after declines earlier in the week left the market oversold, traders said. Wheat also firmed as traders scrambled to cover short positions before the weekend. Chicago Board of Trade corn was mixed, with the front-month contract falling but deferred months pulled higher by the strength in soyabeans and wheat.
For the week, CBOT corn was down 1.2 percent. The front-month corn contract has shed 30.8 percent during three straight weeks of declines. Soyabeans were up 1 percent and wheat was up 2.4 percent for the week. CBOT August soyabeans were up 5-3/4 cents at $13.63-1/2 a bushel at 10:08 am CDT (1500 GMT) while the new-crop November soyabean contract gained 12-1/2 cents to $12.05 a bushel.
Commodity brokerage INTL FCStone pegged 2013 US soyabean production at 3.309 billion bushels, based on an average yield of 43.0 bushels per acre. Those forecasts were lower than the US Agriculture Department's outlook for a soya crop of 3.420 billion bushels on a yield of 44.5 bushels per acre. CBOT September corn was 2-1/4 cents lower at $4.85-1/4 a bushel, still hovering near the nearly three-year low it hit on Thursday. New-crop December corn was up 2-1/4 cents at $4.69-1/4 a bushel. Two private forecasters, FCStone and Lanworth, this week put the 2013 US corn crop above the current outlook of the US government. Some operators said the consolidation showed the market could bottom out soon. CBOT September soft red winter wheat was 9 cents higher at $6.67 a bushel.