Soybean Futures Lead Losses on Yields, Exports

Soybean futures fell on higher yield reports and a slower pace of export sales announcements.

November soybean contracts fell 0.8% to $9.63 1/2 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade.

Analysts said yield data from the early stages of the oilseed harvest, which was 10% complete as of Sunday, increasingly suggested that yields would come in on the high end of estimates.

That increased the likelihood of lower oilseed prices going forward as newly harvested soybeans bolstered existing stockpiles.

"We continue to hear better-than-expected yield results out of most of the Midwest," said Brian Hoops, president of brokerage Midwest Market Solutions. "Producers reporting soybean yields very similar to USDA forecasts of 49.5 to 50 bushels per acre."

The lack of new private export sales of U.S. soybeans this week, with Chinese importers on holiday, limited buying interest. Strong international demand for American oilseed, particularly from China, helped spark a rally in the soybean futures market last week.

But prices have since tumbled off those highs, erasing recent gains.

The soybean market "was treated like a group of naughty children... who were being punished for jumping over the fence into the crabby neighbor's garden and getting caught," said Dan Hueber of the Hueber Report, referring to the correction.

Grain futures also closed lower, with outside influences pressuring those markets. The dollar rose, making U.S. crops less competitive in the export market, while falling crude oil futures eased money flows out of the commodity sector.

CBOT December corn futures fell 0.4% to $3.52 1/4 a bushel, while December wheat contracts closed 0.1% lower at $4.53 3/4 a bushel.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 26, 2017 15:55 ET (19:55 GMT)