Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures closed modestly higher on Tuesday, supported by declining US crop condition ratings and uncertainty about US yield prospects, traders said. CBOT November soyabeans settled up 1-3/4 cents at $8.68-1/4 per bushel.
CBOT December soyameal ended up $2.30 at $299.50 per short ton, while December soyaoil declined, settling down 0.25 cent at 28.79 cents per pound. Soyabean futures pared gains as radar showed beneficial rain falling on Tuesday in parts of Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Futures drew support from the US Department of Agriculture's weekly crop progress report, which rated 53% of the US soyabean crop in good-to-excellent condition, down 1 percentage point from a week ago. Analysts had expected no change.
Additional early support stemmed from news that the annual Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour found below-average soyabean pod counts in its first day of scouting. The tour late on Monday estimated Ohio's average number of soyabean pods in a 3-by-3-foot square at 764 pods, down from last year's average of 1,248 pods and the three-year average of 1,137 pods.
For South Dakota, the tour estimated an average pod count of 833 pods, down from 1,025 pods a year ago and the three-year average of 965 pods. The tour was expected to release pod counts for Indiana and Nebraska later on Tuesday.