US soybean futures rose to a two-week high on Wednesday, after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) unexpectedly cut its forecast for the local crop and raised expectations for imports from China, in a monthly report. .
* Soybean gains, however, were held back by expectations of large South American crops, which will compete with US shipments on the world market.
* Corn futures were mixed as weaker demand from exporters and USDA ethanol producers largely offset prospects for a smaller crop.
* Wheat fell as the government lowered its supply forecast by less than the consensus of traders.
* Chicago November soybeans were up 22 cents at $13.9825 a bushel by 1706 GMT, their highest level since Sept. 30. The actively traded contract hit technical resistance around the $14 level and its 20-day and 50-day moving averages.
* Corn for December was up 1 cent at $6.94 a bushel, while wheat for the same month was down 11.5 cents at $8.89 a half a bushel.
* In its monthly report on supply and demand, the USDA said the country’s corn and soybean harvests would be smaller than expected, raising concerns about tight global inventories. Analysts, on average, had expected a cut in corn production but an increase in soybean production.
* “The big surprise is the cut in soybean production,” said Karl Setzer, a commodity risk analyst at AgriVisor.