Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell on Friday on expectations that recent rains in Argentina boosted crop potential from that key South American exporter, traders said.
Wheat futures were mixed, with the most-active Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract sagging on position squaring after notching its biggest weekly gain in four weeks.
But wheat contracts tracking high-protein supplies were firm, supported by concerns about a cold snap in the U.S. Plains damaging the dormant crop and worries that escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war could lead to supply disruptions from Black Sea ports.
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Western Canadian cash prices for spring wheat were mostly higher and those for durum were a pinch lower for the week ended Feb. 17. A firmer tone United States wheat complex offered support, as did the Canadian dollar which lost six-tenths of a cent on the week.
Corn futures edged higher on hopes for stepped-up demand on the export market.
All three commodities posted weekly gains.
“Grain and oilseed traders are consolidating recent price gains ahead of the weekend,” Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at StoneX, said in a note to clients.
Chicago Board of Trade March soybean futures settled down 14 cents at $15.09-1/2 a bushel (all figures US$).
Recent rains have brought badly needed relief to much of Argentina’s parched agricultural land, the Buenos Aires Grains exchange said on Thursday, with coming rains expected to further help farmers in the planting stage amid a historic drought.
CBOT March corn was up 1/2 cent at $6.83 a bushel and CBOT March wheat was 2-1/2 cents lower at $7.50 a bushel. K.C. hard red winter wheat for March delivery, which tracks the crop being grown in the U.S. Plains, gained 4-1/4 cents to $8.69 a bushel.
For the week, soft red winter wheat gained 1.1 per cent and corn futures were up one per cent while soybean futures were up 0.2 per cent.
— Reporting for Reuters by Mark Weinraub in Chicago; additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris.
