Forexpros – Soybean futures were up for the first time in three days on Wednesday, as the U.S. dollar came under pressure ahead of the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting later in the day.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, soybean futures for January delivery traded at USD12.1113 a bushel during European morning trade, gaining 0.68%.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.95% to trade at a daily high of USD12.1825 a bushel.
Soybean prices gained as the dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, slumped 0.4% to trade at 77.12.
A weaker dollar boosts the appeal of U.S. crops to overseas buyers and makes commodities more attractive as an alternative investment.
The greenback’s losses came amid speculation the Fed may offer hints of further easing measures to boost the U.S. economy when it concludes its two-day policy-setting meeting later in the day.
Markets will pay close attention to the post-meeting press conference conducted by Fed Chair Ben Bernanke to gauge how close the central bank is to another round of asset purchases, or quantitative easing.
Soybean futures found further support after China’s Vice Finance Minister Li Yong said earlier that the nation’s economy was “moving in the right direction” and that macro-economic policies will be more “forward-looking and flexible” to deal with any difficulties ahead.
The comments helped ease fears over a ‘hard landing’ in China, which is the world’s largest soybean consumer. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, China is expected to account for nearly 60% of global trade of the grain in the 2011-12 marketing season.
Some mild bargain buying also emerged after soybean prices fell to a three-week low of USD11.9075 a bushel on Tuesday. Prices have lost nearly 7.5% in the previous three sessions as a stronger dollar and renewed fears over the euro zone’s debt crisis weighed on riskier assets.
Markets eyed a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, scheduled for later in the day on Athens’ surprise decision to vote on its latest bailout deal.
Elsewhere on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, corn for December delivery shed 0.36% to trade at USD6.5188 a bushel, while wheat for December delivery fell 0.44% to trade at USD6.2763 a bushel.
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