SINGAPORE- Chicago soybean futures were largely unchanged on Monday, after climbing to a near two-week high earlier in the session with prices underpinned by expectations of strong demand for US supplies.
Wheat rose after closing lower on Friday, while corn was little changed.
“Chinese buying is key to soybean prices,” a Singapore-based trader said. “Prices are likely to be supported if we see strong demand for US beans.”
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade (CBOT) rose quarter of a cent to $12.67-1/2 a bushel, near the session high of $12.75 a bushel, its highest since Nov. 24.
Wheat added 0.5 percent to $8.07-1/2 a bushel while corn was unchanged at $5.84 a bushel.
Private exporters sold 122,000 tons of US soybeans to unknown destinations for the 2021-2022 marketing year, the US Department of Agriculture said last week.
However, China’s soybean imports from the United States in 2021/2022 are expected to fall sharply from last season after loading delays following Hurricane Ida.
Russia considers setting its grain export quota at 14 million tons, including nine million tons of wheat, for Feb. 15-June 30, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday, citing a source, familiar with discussions.
China’s grain output rose 2 percent from the previous year to 682.9 million tons in 2021, the country’s statistics bureau said on Monday.
Corn output in 2021 was 272.6 million tons, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement on its website, and wheat output at 136.9 million tons.
Large speculators cut their net long position in CBOT of Trade corn futures in the week to Nov. 30, regulatory data released on Friday showed.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and cut their net long position in soybeans.
