Key Takeaways
- Chicago soybeans increased by 0.31% to $13-1/2 a bushel.
- Chinese state buyers have stepped up purchases of US soybeans.
- Higher crude oil prices provided additional support to soybean and soyoil prices.
Chicago soybeans rose by 0.31% to $13-1/2 a bushel by 0231 GMT, supported by strong Chinese demand and higher crude oil prices.
Chinese state buyers have increased their purchases of US soybeans ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington later this month.
Markets are awaiting greater clarity from the summit on future demand from the world’s top soybean importer.
Soyoil prices gained 0.57% to 70.08 cents per pound, tracking higher crude oil prices, which jumped more than 2% following Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and Iranian attacks on ships in the Gulf.
However, gains in soybeans were limited after the US Department of Agriculture raised its soybean production forecast on Friday.
Wheat rose 0.03% to $7.25-1/2 a bushel as traders assessed risks in the Black Sea region, with renewed diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine weighing on prices.
Attention on demand will now focus on increased tender activity, including this week with Pakistan, as well as any change in buying activity from key importers across Southeast Asia.
A government agency in Pakistan issued an international tender to purchase and import 750,000 metric tons of wheat, according to European traders.
Corn dropped 0.09% to $5.29-3/4 a bushel, despite support from higher oil prices and expectations of a smaller US harvest, as US farmers will harvest less corn than previously forecast this autumn due to hot summer weather concerns.
