U.S. grains: Soybeans, corn rise as traders position ahead of USDA report

Chicago | Reuters—Chicago soybean and corn futures ticked up on Thursday as traders squared positions ahead of a major U.S. Department of Agriculture supply-and-demand report due on Friday.

Both were anchored by easing concerns over dryness in key exporter Argentina and in southern Brazil.

Meanwhile, wheat futures fell as the U.S. dollar extended recent gains.

The market closed early at 12:15 p.m. CST (1815 GMT) on Thursday with U.S. stock markets closed to mark the funeral of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

The most-active soybean contract Sv1 on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) settled up 4-1/2 cents at $9.99 a bushel, while corn Cv1 ended up 2 cents to $4.56 a bushel.

Wheat fell 2-1/4 cents to end at $5.34 a bushel.

“We’ve got one of the bigger report days ahead for the year tomorrow,” said Austin Schroeder, an analyst with Brugler Marketing and Management.

“I think there’s probably some position-squaring ahead of that report,” he said.

The U.S. dollar charged ahead on Thursday on rising bond yields, following a report earlier in the week that Trump was considering the use of emergency measures to allow for a new tariff program.

A stronger dollar tends to make U.S. grains more expensive for buyers holding other currencies and less competitive overseas.

Investors also monitored weather developments in key South American growing regions, with rain forecasts for Argentina in mid-January easing concerns over parched conditions.

Rains in the six to 10-day period could reduce stress on crops, although mixed signals limited confidence in the forecast, according to Commodity Weather Group.

In Brazil, dry weather is limiting soybean development in the southernmost state, while heavy rains may disrupt early harvests in central regions, according to meteorologists.

Despite this, Brazil is anticipating a bumper soybean harvest. Analysts, on average, expect the USDA to raise its crop estimate for the world’s top supplier to a record 170.28 million metric tons.

—Additional reporting by Ella Cao, Mei Mei Chu and Sybille de La Hamaide