GRAINS-Chicago soybeans choppy as Argentine weather, U.S. stocks in focus

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
(Updates prices, adds analyst comment) Feb 9 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures swung between losses and gains in Asian trading on Thursday, as traders weighed the impact of dry weather conditions in Argentina while also taking into account a larger-than-expected build in U.S. stockpiles. Wheat and corn were also subdued after advancing in the previous session following the release of the U.S. government's latest world agricultural supply and demand estimates. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.3% at $15.15-3/4 a bushel, as of 0610 GMT, after rising 0.3% to $15.23-1/2 earlier in the session. U.S. soybean end stocks were seen at 225 million bushels, up 15 million bushels from the January outlook due to a slower pace of crushing at processing plants in December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its February supply and demand report. Analysts, however, said the market remained focused on the impact of dry weather on Argentine crops, which will likely continue supporting prices. Soybean harvest in Argentina, the world's third-biggest producer of the oilseed, will fall to 41.00 million tonnes, down from 45.50 million tonnes estimated in January, the USDA said. If the weather dryness continues, "it will be difficult for Argentina to produce more than 40 million tonnes of soybeans in the new season," Huatai Futures analysts said in a note. CBOT wheat edged up 0.2% to $7.66-1/2 a bushel.


India is considering extending a ban on wheat exports as the world's second-biggest producer seeks to replenish state reserves and bring down domestic prices, Reuters reported, citing government sources. CBOT corn dipped 0.3% to $6.76-1/4 a bushel. Argentina's corn harvest was pegged at 47 million tonnes, 5 million lower than the January outlook. But the U.S. corn stockpile at the end of the 2022/23 marketing year would likely come in at 1.267 billion bushels, 25 million bushels higher than the January estimate, the USDA said. That is higher than the 1.266 billion bushels that analysts had expected to see from the USDA report.
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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