US corn futures jumped more than 1 percent on Tuesday on bargain buying and short-covering after prices for the feed grain hit three-year lows this week. Wheat futures retreated as investors unwound wheat/corn spreads and as an expected move by India to lower wheat export prices threatened to blunt demand for US grain on the global market.
Soyabeans dipped despite stronger-than-expected export shipments last week as traders unwound soyameal/soyaoil spreads and liquidated longs amid an advancing US harvest.
"Most of what I'm seeing today is spread trade. There's a pretty strong reversal in the wheat/corn spread and I'm wondering if it's not because India is looking to lower their (wheat) export price," said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics.
"The weakness in the meal/oil spread is weighing on soyabeans today even though we had bean export inspections higher than the average trade guess," he said.
Scattered rains across the Midwest stalled the corn and soyabean harvest in some areas. But an extended period of dry weather beginning at midweek and continuing into at least next week should allow farmers to resume harvesting a bumper soyabean crop and a likely record-large corn crop.
Chicago Board of Trade December corn futures rose 4-3/4 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $4.41-3/4 per bushel by 11:24 am CDT (1624 GMT) after hitting a 37-month low of $4.32 a day earlier. The dip in prices reignited demand from Chinese buyers who recently booked a large volume of US corn for import early next year, according to traders. CBOT December wheat fell 4-1/4 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $6.88-1/4 a bushel. The wheat/corn spread, which ballooned to a multi-year high of $2.59 last week, narrowed by nearly 10 cents. News that India may lower its floor price for wheat exports by about $40 per tonne to spur sales from its ample stocks added pressure.
CBOT November soyabeans shed 1-1/4 cents to $12.71-3/4 a bushel, holding just above Monday's 20-month low of $12.61-3/4 a bushel. Futures pared earlier losses as the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) reported September crushings above analyst forecasts. NOPA said the US soyabean crush fell to a four-year low of 108.68 million bushels in September, down nearly 2 million bushels from August but more than 2 million bushels above trade forecasts.