US export sales of soyabeans, corn and wheat were the smallest in three weeks last week, with each missing trader expectations, US Agriculture Department data showed on Thursday. "Most of the crop markets reacted negatively to USDA's export sales report this morning," analyst Richard Brock of Milwaukee's Brock and Associates said in a note to clients. However, only three months into the soyabean marketing season, exporters have already sold 75 percent of what the US Agriculture Department estimated for the entire year. Chicago Board of Trade January soyabeans finished 1-3/4 cents higher at $14.48 per bushel in the third session of gains out of the last four trading days.
Soya futures for delivery in March and May - when South American farmers will begin harvest their crops - posted larger gains, with March's premium over January rising to the biggest in more than two weeks. Investment funds bought 2,000 soyabean contracts and sold 7,000 corn and 3,000 wheat contracts, sources on the Chicago trading floor said. CBOT March wheat eased 5-3/4 cents to $8.85-1/2 per bushel, a decline of 0.7 percent. CBOT March corn shed 5-1/4 cents to $7.58-3/4 per bushel, its first drop in four sessions.
Export sales of US soyameal last week were the highest in two months amid tight supplies in South America while exporters sold 100,000 tonnes of US soyaoil for the second straight week, the first time that has happened in two years. There is little soyameal or soyaoil available for export in South America and rains are expected to delay soya planting in Argentina, the No 1 exporter of soyameal and soyaoil.
"You have an underlying bullish force," said Jason Britt, president of brokerage Central State Commodities in Kansas City. "We are not slowing exports, even though today's numbers were a little lower." Wet weather is a mounting issue in Argentina while overall satisfactory crop weather continues in Brazil, said Andy Karst, meteorologist for World Weather Inc. "It's still too wet in Argentina and there are a couple more rounds of rain coming over the next week, so there won't be a whole lot more planting going on," he said.