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Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
Chicago wheat slips as harvest pressure sets in; soybeans set for weekly gain
BEIJING - Chicago wheat futures pulled back on Friday after a pre-holiday short-covering rally in the U.S., as harvest pressure looms in Europe and the Black Sea region. The most-active wheat contract dropped 0.59% to $5.87 a bushel, as of 0211 GMT, but remains near a four-month high and is set for a weekly gain. Wheat found some support in the previous trading session, as weather concerns in parts of the U.S. and Europe prompted speculators to cover short positions. "We think that most of the rally will be given back over the next week due to harvest pressure just about to come along in EU and Black Sea," said Ole Houe, head of advisory services at IKON Commodities in Sydney. Soybeans rose 0.02% to $10.75 per bushel and remained on course for a third consecutive weekly gain. Strength in the energy market this week, driven by heightened tensions between Israel and Iran, has lent support to agricultural commodities like soybeans and corn. Higher crude oil prices enhance the appeal of soyoil and corn as biofuel feedstocks. Corn eased 0.17% to $4.32-6/8 a bushel, with prices hovering near their lowest level of 2025. Corn is poised to end the week lower. "Corn is holding the line as no real news and the Israel attacks are not enough to keep any enthusiasm in the face of a 400 million metric tons of U.S. corn crop," Houe said. In Argentina, corn yields are exceeding initial expectations in some areas for the 2024/25 crop, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday, though it maintained its overall harvest forecast at 49 million metric tons as excessive moisture slowed fieldwork. Traders are awaiting market direction from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly export sales report, which will be released later on Friday.
Business Recorder
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Chicago soybeans retreat from near 10-month highs as soyoil slumps; wheat rises
BEIJING: Chicago soybean futures slipped from near 10-month highs on Thursday, weighed down by a sharp drop in soyoil as falling crude oil prices and mounting uncertainty over the U.S. biofuel policy pressured the market. Soyoil futures dropped 5.18% to 49.61 cents per pound, the steepest daily decline since June 2023, partly due to weaker crude oil prices following a surprise U.S. inventory build and renewed hopes for a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal. Soybeans slipped 0.93% to $10.68 per bushel, snapping a five-session winning streak. The market had drawn support from a Monday proposal to extend the biofuel tax credit (45Z), which underpins demand for soyoil in renewable diesel production. Shifting expectations about U.S. biodiesel policy have disrupted the soyoil market, with rumours of lower-than-expected target for biomass diesel mandates and delays in biofuel tax credit rule-making adding to market uncertainty. Optimism over a temporary truce in the U.S.-China trade war lent some support to soybean prices, but traders and analystswarned of uncertainty ahead of the U.S. marketing season. On Wednesday, agribusiness consultancy AgResource warned U.S. soybean exports may drop 20% and that prices will plunge if the U.S. and China fail to resolve their trade dispute. Soybeans, corn up on US-China trade optimism; wheat flat Corn rose 0.34% to $4.47 per bushel, supported by concerns about potential unfavourable weather during the U.S. summer. In rival supplier Brazil, 2024-25 corn output is estimated to be about 125 million metric tons, according to the Brazilian Association of Corn and Sorghum Producers. Wheat rose 0.57% to $5.27-6/8 a bushel, stabilizing after hitting its lowest in nearly five years on Wednesday. 'Wheat is just stabilising after a big run-up overnight, said Ole Houe, director of advisory services at IKON Commodities in Sydney, adding that prices will likely strengthen further due to dryness concerns in hard red winter wheat growing areas. Traders are awaiting the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly export sales report, due later in the day. Commodity funds were net buyers of corn, wheat, soybean and soyoil futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said. They were net sellers of soymeal futures, traders said.
