Chicago | Reuters—U.S. soybean futures reached a one-month peak on Friday and corn futures touched more than a four-month high after the U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered its U.S. harvest outlooks for both crops more than expected, traders said.
Both markets later pared gains but remained poised for weekly advances.
Wheat futures also ticked up on spillover strength from corn.
CBOT corn Cv1ended 3-1/2 cents higher at $4.31 per bushel, settling up 3.5 per cent for the week. CBOT soy <Sv1 finished up 4 cents at $10.26-1/4 per bushel, settling up 3.3 per cent for the week. CBOT wheat Wv1ticked up 1 cent to $5.72-1/2 per bushel, settling up 0.80 per cent for the week.
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U.S. farmers grew fewer soybeans and less corn this year than previously expected after a late-season dry spell, but supplies of both crops remain hefty, the USDA said in its monthly supply and demand report.
The agency also raised world ending stocks for wheat above trade expectations.
Growers are now estimated to have produced the second-biggest U.S. soy harvest in history after crop losses prevented them from setting a record, although end-of-season supplies are still projected at a five-year high.
Soybeans have also gained some strength from byproduct soyoil. CBOT December soyoil BOZ24 set a new four-month high on Friday on spillover support from a palm oil FCPOc3 rally and expectations that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could impose tariffs on imported biofuel feedstocks.
Meanwhile, traders booked profits ahead of the weekend, adding pressure to corn and soy futures.
“Guys that have been long are taking some profit,” said Joe Davis, a broker at Futures International. “It’s been a long week with the election and the (USDA report), so people who put risk on for a bullish number got it and started selling.”
Rain over the U.S. Plains and wheat-growing areas of the Black Sea has helped ease dryness that hampered the wheat crop.
—Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra
