* Soy dips from near four-year high
* USDA reports more US soy sold to China
* Corn touches three week high after rallying on Friday
* Wheat advances as heavy rains hit US Plains
(Updates prices, adds details on U.S. wheat crop)
By Tom Polansek
CHICAGO, April 30 (Reuters) – U.S. soybean futures fell on Monday,
retreating from a nearly four-year high as traders booked profits and the market
felt pressure from larger-than-expected deliveries on first notice day.
Soybean futures for May delivery, the nearby contract, dropped 7-1/2 cents,
or 0.5 percent, to $14.89-1/4 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade by 11:50
a.m. CST ( 16:50 GMT). Soybeans for July delivery slipped 2-1/2 cents, or 0.2
percent, to $14.91 a bushel.
Corn and wheat futures edged higher.
Profit-taking drove soy prices lower after nearby prices topped $15 a bushel
on Friday on strong demand from China, the world’s top importer of the oilseed.
The rally took a pause, even though the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on
Monday that private exporters struck deals to sell another 220,000 tonnes of
soybeans to China.
“Some sort of a correction is due,” said Kayla Burkhart, a North Dakota
grain merchandiser for CHS.
Soybeans felt additional pressure from larger-than-expected deliveries of
752 contracts against the May contract on first notice day. Traders had expected
there would not be any deliveries because of tight supplies.
The decline in soybeans was expected to be short lived as demand remains
strong, analysts said. China will likely keep buying because margins for
crushing soybeans remain good, said Jerry Gidel, analyst for Rice Dairy.
CORN TOUCHES 3-WEEK HIGH
Corn edged up to a three-week high, building on a surge of 5 percent on
Friday that was fueled by the largest one-day sale of U.S. corn since 1991.
Traders said most of the corn was likely headed for China.
July corn rose 3-1/2 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $6.29 a bushel.
Tension in corn and soybeans has been concentrated in old-crop contracts,
which have established a sizable premium over new-crop prices given tight
short-term stocks.
Analysts say forward prices may benefit from Chinese demand for next season
and the need to replenish stocks and ensure farmers plant more crops.
The bulk of the massive one-day corn purchase reported Friday was for grain
to be harvested next fall, when U.S. farmers were expected to reap a
record-large crop.
“We are… growing incrementally more bullish on new-crop (corn) prices from
current levels, as the early harvest and new-crop feeding required to save the
old-crop carryout, will likely pressure new-crop supplies,” Morgan Stanley
analysts said.
Farmers are expected to start harvesting corn earlier than usual because
they started planting early due to favorable weather.
US CROPS IN FOCUS
Traders were waiting for an update on corn planting in the United States,
with the USDA set to issue a weekly crop progress report on Monday afternoon.
U.S. farmers had planted 43 percent of their corn and 13 percent of their
soybeans as of April 29, with rain and cold temperatures limiting their progress
around the Midwest, according to a Reuters poll of 18 analysts.
The slowdown was a switch after warm, dry weather allowed farmers to start
planting at a rapid pace in March.
Traders also were keeping an eye on the U.S. wheat crop. Heavy rains over
the weekend in key growing areas of the U.S. Plains may have damaged some of the
new wheat crop, leaving growers to hope for sunshine to help the crop dry out.
In Kansas, typically the top U.S. winter wheat producing state, reports put
rainfall at more than 2 to nearly 7 inches in a 24 hour period over the weekend
through the southeast and south-central part of the state, said National Weather
Service meteorologist Jennifer Bowen.
Excessive rainfall on mature wheat can cause it to bend, to ‘lay down’ in a
field, making it difficult to dry out and to harvest, eroding yields. Excessive
rain can also foster disease.
Employees of food companies, grocers, trading firms, the government and the
media will get a firsthand look at the Kansas crop as an annual wheat tour kicks
off on Tuesday.
A record-large group of 100 attendees will take part in the Hard Wheat
Quality Tour, sponsored by the Wheat Quality Council, up from about 70 last
year.
July wheat rose 2 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $6.52 a bushel.
Prices at 11:54 a.m. CDT (1654 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
CBOT corn 653.25 0.25 0.0% 1.0%
CBOT soy 1489.00 -7.75 -0.5% 24.2%
CBOT meal 428.90 1.50 0.4% 38.6%
CBOT soyoil 54.53 -0.65 -1.2% 4.7%
CBOT wheat 647.00 4.75 0.7% -0.9%
CBOT rice 1491.50 -7.00 -0.5% 2.1%
EU wheat 216.75 3.00 1.4% 7.0%
US crude 104.50 -0.43 -0.4% 5.7%
Dow Jones 13,200 -29 -0.2% 8.0%
Gold 1663.43 1.11 0.1% 6.4%
Euro/dollar 1.3228 -0.0010 -0.1% 2.2%
Dollar Index 78.8260 0.1170 0.2% -1.7%
Baltic Freight 1155 -1 -0.1% -33.5%
(Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
Editing by Richard Borsuk and Alison Birrane; Editing by David Gregorio)
