Soybeans rise on South America weather concerns, wheat ticks up

SINGAPORE — Chicago soybean futures gained ground on Tuesday, with prices underpinned by forecasts of dry weather in South America that could hurt yields, while corn and wheat ticked higher after three straight sessions of falls.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.9% at $13.67-3/4 a bushel, as of 0252 GMT. Corn rose 0.8% to $5.94 a bushel and wheat gained 0.4% to $7.61 a bushel.

South American weather forecasts returned to dry and hot after beneficial rains last week in Brazil and Argentina. In Argentina, moisture deficits could expand to affect more than half of corn and soybean crops by next week, the Commodity Weather Group said in a note.

Gains in soybean futures were capped by the disappointing U.S. weekly export inspections, with 1.19 million tonnes of the oilseed exported in the week ended Dec. 30, down 32% from the previous four-week average and below analysts’ estimates.

U.S exporters shipped 596,092 tonnes of corn last week, down 45% from the prior four-week average and at the low end of analysts’ expectations, while 141,816 tonnes of wheat was inspected for export, below expectations and 70% below the previous four-week average.

The wheat market was supported by tightening world supplies. Condition ratings for winter wheat fell sharply during December in Kansas and Oklahoma, the top two U.S. winter wheat producers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Monday.

Large speculators raised their net long position in CBOT corn futures in the week ended Dec. 28, regulatory data showed.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that non-commercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and raised their net long position in soybeans. (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Subhranshu Sahu)