The week starts with soybean prices rising on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). As of 7:35 AM (Brasília time) on Monday (24), soybean futures registered gains of 3 to 7.25 points in the most traded contracts, with July valued at $11.67 and November, the reference for the American crop, quoted at $11.23 per bushel. Soybean meal prices also rose, while soybean oil experienced a slight decline this morning on the CBOT.
The weather in the American Midwest remains the focal point of the grain market.
"The weekend saw floods in the northern Corn Belt, including northern Iowa, southern Minnesota, and Wisconsin, with dry weather in the eastern states. As Labhoro warned, last week we already saw significant reductions in good to excellent conditions in key states like Illinois, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and today we should see further reductions in important states in the report to be released at 5 PM by the USDA," said Ginaldo Sousa, general director of the consultancy.
Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that 70% of soybean crops were in good or excellent condition, down from 72% the previous week, with Illinois—the largest soybean-producing state—losing nine percentage points in this classification.
Sousa further explained that medium and long-term climate models are predicting a high-pressure center for the southern states and central areas of the Corn Belt. "If this happens, it should drive funds to buy soybeans and corn, covering some of the short positions," Sousa added.
Additionally, as Labhoro noted, the past 30 days' rainfall maps show below-normal volumes for important states such as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, much of Iowa, Missouri, central and western South Dakota, as well as the Delta states.
This Monday, the market is also awaiting new numbers on weekly U.S. shipments to be reported by the USDA.
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