US soyabean futures jumped more than 1 percent on Wednesday in a bargain-buying bounce from the prior session's steep declines and on concerns about tight US supplies ahead of the autumn harvest. Corn futures were mixed after sinking to an 11-week low earlier in the session, weighed down by this week's rapid US planting pace and adequate old-crop supplies.
Wheat fell for a 10th session out of 11, with plentiful global supplies giving stiff competition to US exporters. "Yesterday's surprising move lower may have been a little bit overdone," said Rich Nelson, chief strategist with Allendale Inc in McHenry, Illinois. Chicago Board of Trade July soyabeans rose 23-1/4 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $14.93 per bushel by 10:46 am CDT (1546 GMT), recovering all of Tuesday's 16-1/2 cent fund-selling drop.
Prices were supported by the tightest US soyabean stocks in a decade and persistent demand from both exporters and domestic processors. New-crop soyabean contracts rose modestly on concerns that favourable planting weather throughout much of the US Midwest this week would speed corn seeding and limit the number of acres that farmers switch to soyabeans, which can be planted later. CBOT July corn was a penny higher at $4.74-1/2 a bushel after sliding earlier on Wednesday to $4.72-1/2, the lowest since March 4.
CBOT July wheat fell 3-3/4 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $6.66-3/4 a bushel. The contract was hovering near key support levels between $6.60 and $6.65 that held in April and earlier this week. Wheat traders remained focused on political tensions in major exporter Ukraine ahead of upcoming elections, although grain export volumes have remained largely consistent and importers have not shied away from fresh Black Sea purchases. Iraq's state grain board bought 150,000 tonnes of Russian wheat this week. US wheat offers were considerably higher than both Russian and Ukrainian offers in the tender.