CBOT November soyabeans were up 1-3/4 cents at $9.71-3/4 a bushel and December corn was flat at $3.50 a bushel. Benchmark December CBOT wheat struggled to climb much above $4.50 a bushel this week, anchored by plentiful global supplies, including a record-large Russian harvest. Commodity funds hold a large net short position in CBOT wheat futures, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of short-covering. Traders were mindful of a US Department of Agriculture Sept. 29 small grains report, in which the government will update its estimates of the US 2017 wheat harvest.
December spring wheat futures on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange December were up 5 cents at $6.26-1/2 per bushel, rebounding a day after posting a three-month low at $6.14-1/2. CBOT soyabean futures firmed, supported by a larger-than-expected weekly export sales tally. The USDA reported export sales of US soyabeans in the latest week at more than 2.3 million tonnes, topping a range of trade estimates for 1.2 million to 1.5 million. Also, through its daily reporting system, the USDA said private exporters sold 132,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to China. However, the pace of US soyabean sales is still slower than a year ago.
Copyright Reuters, 2017