Soybean, Corn Futures Bounce

Soybean futures led gains in grain and oilseed markets, as harvest delays in the U.S. and tough weather in Brazil stoked buying interest.

Wet weather in the U.S., with rains spreading across the Midwest this week, is limiting fieldwork. That is slowing the flow of soybeans into the supply chain, said Brian Hoops, president of brokerage Midwest Market Solutions.

The Commodity Weather Group said, meanwhile, that planting delays are affecting around 20% of Brazilian corn and soybeans due to a lack of rainfall.

With traders increasingly concerned about oversupply of soybeans, those disruptions gave prices a boost on Thursday even if they were likely to have limited effect on production in both countries.

Soybean futures for November rose 1% to $9.68 1/4 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade.

Corn futures also rose, buoyed by better-than-expected export sales. In a weekly report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said exporters sold 814,100 metric tons of corn, above the range of analyst estimates. Soybean sales were within expectations, though below recent weeks due to a slower rate of purchases from China.

CBOT December corn futures rose 0.4% to $3.49 1/2 a bushel.

Private forecaster Informa Economics also on Thursday increased its yield estimates for U.S. corn and soybeans from a month earlier, according to traders. That limited gains in the futures market.

The firm put corn yield at 170.5 bushels an acre, higher than the USDA's most recent estimate of 169.9 bushels. Informa expects soybeans to yield 50 bushels per acre, in line with the most recent government estimates of 49.9 bushels.

The increases came as many U.S. farmers reported better-than-expected yields, despite a difficult growing season.

CBOT December wheat futures fell 0.3% to $4.40 3/4 a bushel.

Write to Benjamin Parkin at benjamin.parkin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 05, 2017 15:34 ET (19:34 GMT)