SINGAPORE- Chicago soybean futures slid on Thursday as a widely-watched US government report is expected to show higher world supplies, although losses were limited by strong Chinese demand.
Wheat gained ground on crop concerns in some growing regions, while corn was little changed.
“The market, and beans in particular, might get a jolt from tonight’s USDA (US Department of Agriculture) crop report,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agriculture strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The USDA is due to release its monthly global agriculture supply-demand report later in the day.
“The market is already expecting a slightly heavier supply picture, particularly in the US,” he added.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade eased 0.1 percent t0 $8.65 a bushel.
Wheat was up 0.2 percent at $5.07-1/4 a bushel and corn edged up 0.1 percent to $3.26-1/2 a bushel.
China has made a string of purchases of US soybeans recently. Chinese state-owned Sinograin bought at least 120,000 tons of US soybeans for shipment in December on Tuesday, traders said.