Soybean futures climbed on Wednesday on a round of short covering sparked by concerns over hot, dry weather in top producer Brazil that may threaten soybean seeding, traders said.
As price movement in soybeans on the Chicago Board of Trade continued to be a tussle between dry conditions in Brazil versus pressure from the United States harvest, Sean Lusk, vice-president of Walsh Commercial Hedging in Chicago, suggested not to pay much attention to any trade action China might soon take against U.S. soybeans.
Chicago wheat futures eased on Tuesday as geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine faded into the background and brisk exports of Black Sea wheat continued to pose tough competition to U.S. wheat exports, traders said.
Chicago wheat futures dipped from three-month highs on Monday on profit taking following the previous week's rally sparked by crop concerns in Europe and escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, traders said.
Managed money fund traders added to their large net short position in canola in early September, while profit-taking saw a reduction in the bearish bets for soybeans and corn in Chicago, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report.
Hot and dry weather saw crop conditions decline across much of Western Canada over the past month, with the latest model-based production estimates from Statistics Canada showing downward revisions in both canola and wheat production from the August report.
Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures reached a 12-week high on Friday as escalating tensions in Russia's war with Ukraine increased uncertainty about Black Sea exports.
Combining of major crops in Alberta progressed 23 points during the week ended Sept. 10, reaching 54 per cent, according to the province's latest weekly crop report. While dry weather helped to advance the harvest, crop yields were not meeting expectations.
Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended higher on Thursday, rebounding from a drop to near two-week lows after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised its estimate of the U.S. corn crop, traders said.
Saskatchewan’s harvest was more than halfway finished at 61 per cent complete, although not as much as the 68 per cent complete from one year ago. The figure was higher than the 42 per cent reported last week, the five-year average of 50 per cent and the 10-year average of 46 per cent. The southwest region was the nearest to completion at 85 per cent while the northeast region’s harvest was only at 34 per cent.