Soybean Futures Tumble on Argentine Rain

Soybean futures fell Thursday as weather forecasts showed more rainfall in Argentina.

Rain in the South American country--a major producer of soybeans and corn--beat expectations on Wednesday, according to the Commodity Weather Group. Up to an inch of rain was forecast in most regions over the next week, offering temporary relief to dry Argentine crops.

The oilseed market has recently found some support on bets that dry weather in Argentina will cut into production and ease global oversupply. But a wetter turn in the forecast has allayed those concerns, while analysts say that good conditions and rising production forecasts in neighboring Brazil should be enough to offset any reduction to supply.

Soybean traders were also assessing government forecasts that showed larger U.S. stockpiles of oilseed, a result of lower export projections.

Soybean futures for January fell 1.2% to $9.67 3/4 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade.

Grain contracts were mixed, with corn futures giving back gains to close lower. CBOT March wheat futures rose 0.4% to $4.18 1/4 a bushel while March corn contracts slid 0.1% to $3.48 1/2 a bushel.

Wheat prices got a boost from better-than-expected weekly export sales. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that exporters sold 598,300 metric tons of the grain in the week ended Dec. 7, above the range of pre-report estimates.

Soybean meal sales were also above expectations at 455,400 tons. The boost could potentially have been linked to concerns about the crop in Argentina, said Doug Bergman, head of agricultural trading at RCM Alternatives.

Sales of other crops were in line with estimates.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 14, 2017 15:14 ET (20:14 GMT)