By Tom Polansek
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–Soybean prices are poised to start higher Wednesday in
an attempt to keep pace with a strong rally in the corn market.
Soybean prices have felt spillover support from corn recently as corn has
consistently set fresh 23-month highs on worries about disappointing U.S.
yields. Soybeans and corn are linked to each other because they will compete
for acreage at planting time in the spring.
“Soybean prices are trying to keep pace with corn’s recent rally,” said
Brian Liedl, analyst for Country Hedging, a brokerage firm.
Soybeans for November delivery are called to open 2 cents to 4 cents a
bushel higher on the Chicago Board of Trade, according to traders. This
most-active contract overnight jumped 4 3/4 cents, or 0.4%, to $10.40 1/4 a
bushel.
Corn and wheat prices also are expected to start stronger Wednesday. The
nearby December corn contract is just a few cents below the psychologically
important level of $5 a bushel and could pierce that price for the first time
since Oct. 1, 2008.
While market participants are worried about lower-than-expected corn yields,
early soybean harvest results have not been disappointing, analysts said. The
harvest was 3% complete in Illinois as of Sunday, above the average of 1% for
that time of year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rains through the western and northern U.S. Midwest during the next few days
will likely begin to delay the corn and soybean harvests, according to Telvent
DTN, a private weather firm. Otherwise, farmers don’t face any significant
weather concerns as they work to bring the crops in from the fields, the firm
said in a forecast.
Strong demand should keep soybean prices between $10 and $11 a bushel for
the rest of the year, despite the influx of fresh supplies expected from the
impending harvest, according to Randy Mann, vice-president of the American
Soybean Association.