Forexpros – Soybean futures were down for the first time in five trading sessions on Monday, as investors cashed out of the market to lock in gains from a rally that took prices to the highest level since mid-September on Friday.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, soybeans futures for May delivery traded at USD13.6388 a bushel during European morning trade, slumping 0.7%.
It earlier fell by as much as 0.89% to trade at a two-day low of USD13.6238 a bushel. Prices rose to USD13.7712 a bushel on Friday, the highest since September 15.
Soybean futures have rallied almost 13% since the beginning of February, including a gain of nearly 5% in March, as market sentiment has been dominated by concerns over distressed crops in major South American soy growers and on hopes demand from top consumer China will remain robust in the near-term.
U.S. export data released Thursday pointed to further evidence of export demand shifting to the U.S. from South America.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that U.S. farmers sold nearly 1.393 million tonnes of soybeans last week, significantly higher than the range of estimates for 0.65 million tonnes to 0.90 million.
It was the third largest weekly sales number for soybeans since September.
The USDA export report included a sale of nearly 368,200 tonnes to China for the old-crop marketing year and 669,000 tonnes to China for the 2012-13 marketing year.
In February, U.S. farmers sold 2.923 million metric tons of the oilseed to China in the biggest one-day deal on record.
China is the world’s largest soybean consumer and is expected to account for nearly 60% of global trade of the grain in the 2011-12 season, according to the USDA.
Meanwhile, ongoing concerns over drought-stricken soy crops in Brazil also underpinned hopes for increased demand for U.S. supplies.
Brazil is a major soy exporter and competes with the U.S. for business on the global market. Gloomy Brazilian crop prospects could increase demand for U.S. supplies.
Last month, the USDA said that reduced South American production will boost U.S. exports by 22% to a record 42.2 million tons in the year that begins September.
However, the sharp jump in prices prompted some investors to sell their position and lock in gains on profit taking.
Some market analysts expect soybean prices to remain stalled for the rest of the month until the USDA releases its projections for how many acres farmers will plant with the crop on March 30.
The planting intentions report will be the first survey-based estimate of soybean acreage in the U.S.
On Friday, influential agricultural advisory group Allendale pegged soybean acres at 74.495 million, below a 75 million-acre forecast at the U.S. Agriculture Department’s outlook forum last month and below a recent forecast for 75.128 million by analytical firm Informa Economics.
Elsewhere on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, wheat for May delivery tumbled 1.28% to trade at USD6.6338 a bushel, while corn for May delivery dropped 1.18% to trade at USD6.6563 a bushel.
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