U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans rise on short-covering ahead of weekend, crop tour

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures rose on Friday on short-covering ahead of the weekend and a closely followed crop tour set to begin surveying fields across the Midwest next week.

Chicago Board of Trade wheat also edged higher after concerns about big global supplies dragged the market to contract lows earlier this week.

Corn futures were near unchanged in the week while wheat futures fell for a fourth straight week as abundant supplies weighed on both markets. Soybeans posted a weekly gain for the first time in four weeks after a smaller-than-expected U.S. crop forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture this week.

“The risk is, at the moment, to the upside. The funds are short grains and oilseeds, and we’ve got that crop tour that starts on Monday,” said Craig Turner, a commodity broker at StoneX.

“If you’re short and you’re up and you’ve got a winning position, I don’t know why you wouldn’t take a little profit here heading into the weekend with the crop tour coming up.”

CBOT December corn settled up eight cents at $4.05-1/4 a bushel for a weekly decline of just 1/4 cent. November soybeans added 14 cents to settle at $10.42-1/2 a bushel, posting a 5.6 per cent weekly gain. CBOT September wheat was three cents higher at $5.06-1/2 a bushel, down 1.6 per cent in the week.

The Pro Farmer Midwest crop tour will estimate corn yields and gauge soybean production potential across seven states next week before issuing its crop outlook next Friday.

Grain traders will be monitoring findings after the USDA earlier this week projected a record-smashing U.S. corn harvest and smaller soybean crop.

A recent uptick in corn export demand, sparked by low prices, has limited further pressure in corn futures.

A stronger-than-expected July U.S. soybean crush, released at mid-session by the National Oilseed Processors Association, offered soybean futures an additional lift.