Chicago agricultural commodities inch higher on concerns over harvest delays

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures closed slightly higher on Monday due to concerns over harvest delays and technical buying.

The most active corn contract for December delivery rose 0.25 cents, or 0.07 percent, to 3.3725 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery rose 0.75 cents, or 0.19 percent, to 4.04 dollars per bushel. November soybeans added 6.5 cents, or 0.67 percent, to 9.725 dollars per bushel.

Weekly crop progress data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the market close showed a lag in harvesting.

Nine percent of U.S. corn has been harvested as of Sunday, down from the five-year average of 12 percent for this time of year and 11 percent expected by the trade. Four percent of U.S. soybeans were harvested, down slightly from 5 percent on average, matching expectations.

Soybean prices gained for a third consecutive session, pushed higher by the anticipation that Chinese buyers back from a recent holiday will book purchases of U.S. oilseeds.

Federal forecasters are predicting domestic farmers will reap a record soybean crop this year, though a brisk U.S. export pace has recently helped keep prices afloat, convincing traders that a voracious world appetite for soybeans will help limit the growth of U.S. supplies even in the face of a massive harvest.

Corn prices closed slightly higher after trading lower for much of the day as harvest activity picks up in the U.S. Farm Belt. Although corn yields have fallen short of expectations so far this season, farmers in some of the biggest corn growing states have yet to begin harvesting their crops in earnest, and the promise of the coming crop, which is projected at an all-time record, weighed on the market Monday.

Wheat prices were buoyed by improvements in the corn and soybean markets Concerns over export disruptions also have recently capped gains in the wheat market, as Egypt, the world's top grain buyer, re-instated a ban on wheat containing traces of the ergot fungus, confounding grain shippers. 

Source : XINHUA