US soyabean futures fell to a new one-month low near $10 a bushel on Thursday as forecasts for rain in Argentina dampened concerns about dryness hurting production there. Corn and wheat futures approached three-week lows. Rains in dry areas of Argentina, a major exporter, should keep South America on track to produce a bumper soyabean harvest, traders said. Earlier this month, dryness fuelled worries about planting problems and boosted futures prices.
Central Argentina will receive "timely and beneficial rain" during the next five days, said Kevin Van Trump, chief executive of US consultancy Farm Direction. Most-active March soyabeans fell 11-3/4 cents to $10.05-1/4 a bushel by 12:35 p.m. CST (1835 GMT) at the Chicago Board of Trade. The contract earlier slipped to $10.04-3/4, its lowest since Nov. 21.
The front-month January soyabean contract was down 10-3/4 cents at $9.96 a bushel, the lowest for that contract since Nov. 21. Most-active March wheat futures sagged 2-1/4 cents to $3.97-1/4 a bushel, its lowest level since Dec. 2 at $3.97-1/4. March corn futures shed 3/4-cent to $3.46-1/2 a bushel after they hit their lowest since Dec. 2. Traders have been keeping an eye on weather in South America because the United States competes with Argentina and Brazil for business on the global export market.
Demand for US soyabeans has been solid, with the US Department of Agriculture reporting weekly export sales at 1.8 million tonnes. That was above analysts' expectations for 1.1 to 1.4 million. Argentina's agriculture ministry projected the country's 2016/17 wheat crop at 15.7 million tonnes, up from a previous estimate of 14.9 million due to bigger-than-expected yields. For soyabeans, the ministry estimated farmers will plant 20.3 million hectares in the 2016/17 season, up slightly from a previous forecast.