Soybeans rose to the highest in more than a month in Chicago, as traders weighed concerns about dry weather in Brazil and slow harvesting in the US.
US farmers had collected 53 per cent of crops in main growing areas as of 19 October, behind the average pace of 66 per cent, the US Department of Agriculture said. While wet weather recently delayed fieldwork, conditions are expected to be drier this week in most areas, according to DTN. Brazil, the biggest exporter, is facing planting delays because of dry weather. Growing areas may see scattered showers late this week, DTN said.
In the US, “the harvest is slow and farmers are not selling,” Matt Ammermann, a commodity risk manager at INTL FCStone, said by telephone. “If you look at the fundamental situation, it’s also a little dry in Brazil, but there’s rain in the forecast.”
Soybeans for November delivery rose 1.6 per cent to $9.80 a bushel at 6.05am on the Chicago Board of Trade after touching $9.825, the highest since 18 September. The price is still down 24 per cent this year. The US soybean crop will climb to a record 3.927 billion bushels, the USDA said on 10 October.
Weather concerns mean that some speculators may close out bets on falling prices, Ammermann said. Money managers were net-short 17,190 contracts as of 14 October, compared with a bearish position of 39,786 contracts five weeks earlier, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data shows.
Bloomberg News, edited by ESM
