US soyabean futures rose more than 1 percent on Monday, following a sharp rally in soyaoil that stemmed from talk of rising demand on the export market. "I've heard some talk that China has an increased appetite for (soya) oil, said Bill Gentry, broker at Risk Management Associates. "That has given some value add to (soyabeans)."
Corn and wheat futures edged lower, pressured by a bearish fundamental picture for both grains but a round of bargain buying and short covering lent support to both commodities and kept the losses in check. Forecasts for rain across the US Plains this week, arriving just in time to shepherd the hard red winter wheat crop through its last critical phase of development, were weighing on wheat prices.
Corn was anchored by expectations that a US Department of Agriculture report on Monday afternoon will show that farmers seeded huge chunks of their acreage in the past week. Additionally, rainfall around the Midwest in recent days was seen as beneficial to the newly seeded crop. "Fieldwork has been mostly shut down this weekend as rains spread throughout the Midwest, but the trade expects big-time corn planting numbers to be released this afternoon," Matt Zeller, director of market information at INTL FCStone, said in a note to clients.
Chicago Board of Trade soyabeans for July delivery were up 10-3/4 cents at $9.75-1/2 a bushel by 10:42 am CDT (1542 GMT). CBOT July soyaoil futures gained 0.93 cent to 32.51 a bushel. Buying in soyaoil accelerated after the July contract broke through technical resistance at its 100-day moving average. Soyabeans consolidated near the July contract's 30-day and 40-day moving averages. CBOT July corn was down 1-1/2 cents at $3.61-1/2 a bushel. The front-month contract hit its lowest since October 27 during the overnight trading session. CBOT July wheat was 2-1/4 cents lower at $4.71-3/4 a bushel.