By Michael Hirtzer
CHICAGO, Feb 17 (Reuters) – U.S. soybeans climbed to a
one-month peak on Tuesday, lifted by a 2 percent spike in
soymeal futures and data showing near-record domestic crushings
of the beans in January, traders said.
Wheat futures were mixed, with some contracts turning lower
after earlier hitting three-week highs on a short-covering
bounce. Corn was narrowly higher in thin volume on the first
trading day of the week following Monday’s U.S. Presidents Day
holiday.
Soymeal futures <0#SM:> posted the largest gains at the
Chicago Board of Trade, with active soymeal-soyoil spreading
also weighing on soyoil <0#BO:> as investors positioned ahead of
the National Oilseed Processors Association’s monthly release.
The NOPA data, released at 11 a.m. CST (1700 GMT), showed
the U.S. soybean crush at 162.675 million bushels in January,
near the average analyst estimate and the biggest ever for the
month.
CBOT March soybeans were up 8 cents to $9.98-1/2 per
bushel as of 11:45 a.m., after earlier rising to $9.99-3/4 – one
tick below the psychological threshold of $10. Soy prices
remained anchored by record-large crops in South America, where
farmers were in the early phases of harvest.
CBOT March wheat was up 2 cents at $5.35 per bushel
after earlier trading as high as $5.48 while CBOT March corn
was flat at $3.87-1/2.
Wheat was bolstered by worries that bitter cold conditions
could hamper portions of the dormant crop not protected by
snowcover in the southern U.S. Midwest.
“For the next two or three mornings, through Friday, there
is going to be threats of zero to -10 (F) below readings in
those winter wheat areas,” said meteorologist Dan Hicks of
Freese-Notis Weather in Iowa.
However, U.S. grain remained uncompetitive in many global
export markets, with cheaper wheat and corn shipped out of the
Black Sea and South America stealing away some of the United
States’ market share.
Russia may export more than 2 million tonnes of wheat
between February and June as traders have to fulfill previously
agreed contracts despite recently imposed export curbs, SovEcon
agriculture analysts said.
Prices at 11:45 a.m. CST (1745 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
CBOT corn 387.25 0.00 0.0% -8.2%
CBOT soy 998.50 8.00 0.8% -23.9%
CBOT meal 339.60 7.30 2.2% -22.4%
CBOT soyoil 31.91 -0.49 -1.5% -17.8%
CBOT wheat 535.00 2.00 0.4% -11.6%
CBOT rice 1064.00 11.50 1.1% -31.4%
EU wheat 189.50 -0.50 -0.3% -9.3%
US crude 51.72 -1.06 -2.0% -47.4%
Dow Jones 18,017 -3 0.0% 8.7%
Gold 1205.71 -25.39 -2.1% 0.0%
Euro/dollar 1.1415 0.0063 0.6% -16.4%
Dollar Index 94.0400 -0.1610 -0.2% 17.5%
Baltic Freight 516 -6 -1.2% -77.3%
(Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing
by Alan Raybould, editing by David Evans and Tom Brown)