By Jae Hur
Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Corn gained for the first day in five and soybeans climbed for the first time in three days on speculation that recent price declines may lure buyers and China will resume purchases of the oilseed.
Corn dropped to the lowest in more than seven weeks yesterday and soybeans fell to a five-week low. China, the world’s top soybean buyer, will purchase an additional 2.5 million metric tons of domestic new-crop supplies for temporary stockpiles in the northeast province of Heilongjiang, the official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.
“China’s news has lent support to the grains market, together with a technical rebound,” Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at Tokyo-based commodity broker Okachi & Co., said by phone.
Corn for March delivery rose 0.2 percent to $3.625 a bushel in electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade, as of 1 p.m. in Paris. The grain lost 2.4 percent yesterday after touching $3.56, the lowest for the most-active contract since Dec. 12. Prices have fallen 55 percent from a record $7.9925 in June.
Soybeans for March delivery gained 0.9 percent to $9.5425 a bushel. The contract fell 1.4 percent yesterday after dipping to $9.345, the lowest since Dec. 26. Futures are down 42 percent from an all-time high of $16.3675 on July 3.
China’s soybean purchases, to be carried out before the end of April, will bring the amount the government plans to buy to bolster reserves to 4.53 million tons in Heilongjiang, the Xinhua report said, citing the State Administration of Grain’s provincial branch. The move is aimed at stabilizing local oilseed prices and protecting farmers’ interests, the report said.
The grains market was also supported by the dollar’s decline and crude oil’s gain yesterday, Shigemoto said.
Oil Gains
The dollar rose 1.6 percent against the euro at 1:09 p.m. in London after losing 1.5 percent yesterday.
Argentine farms will get more rainfall this week, easing a drought that is cutting the yields of corn and soybean crops, a weather forecaster said yesterday. Argentina is the second- largest exporter of corn after the U.S.
The nation’s farms will receive rain on Feb. 5, though it will be too late for corn plants already damaged by dry weather, Stella Maris Carballo, a forecaster at the National Institute of Agriculture Technology in Buenos Aires, said yesterday.
Wheat for March delivery rose 0.6 percent at $5.56 a bushel after falling 2 percent yesterday. Prices have tumbled 59 percent from a record $13.495 on Feb. 27.
Milling wheat futures traded on Euronext in Paris gained 2 euros, or 1.4 percent, to 148.25 euros a metric ton.
In the export market, Egypt is seeking to buy at least 55,000 tons of wheat at a tender today and Japan plans to buy 128,000 tons of the grain tomorrow, including 86,000 tons from the U.S.
South Korea bought 165,000 tons of corn for feed production and 165,000 tons of feed wheat yesterday, according to two industry executives familiar with the transactions.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jae Hur in Singapore at jhur1@bloomberg.net
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment