Soybeans firm, set for second week of gains on strong demand

SINGAPORE, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Chicago soybean futures rose for a third consecutive session on Friday, with the market on track for a weekly gain underpinned by strong demand for U.S. cargoes.

Wheat inched higher although the market remained under pressure from improved U.S. planting weather, corn firmed.

* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.5% to $9.99-1/4 a bushel, as of 0027 GMT, wheat added 0.6% to $5.73-3/4 a bushel and corn gained 0.3% at $4.12 a bushel.

* For the week, soybeans are up more than 1%, rising for a second week in a row, corn is down 0.8% after a positive finish last week, wheat is up 0.8%, having lost ground last week.

* Strong export demand is supporting soybean futures despite U.S. farmers harvesting some of the largest crops in history.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private sales of 150,000 metric tons of U.S. soymeal to undisclosed destinations for delivery in the 2024/25 marketing year that began Oct. 1.

* The agency reported export sales of U.S. soybeans in the week ended Oct. 24 at 2.3 million metric tons and U.S. corn sales of 2.3 million metric tons. Both were in line with trade expectations.

* For wheat, rains hitting U.S. Plains are providing much-needed moisture to the region, which was hit by dry weather. Drought was affecting 62% of the U.S. winter wheat crop as of Tuesday, up from 58% a week earlier, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

* The European Commission on Thursday lowered virtually all its estimates for this year’s grain crops in the European Union, which would lead to much tighter stocks at the end of the 2024/25 season in the 27-member bloc.

* In supply and demand data, the Commission put this year’s production of common wheat, or soft wheat, in the EU at 112.6 million metric tons, down two million from a month ago and 10% below the volume produced last year.

* Argentine farms planted with corn could surpass the 6.3 million hectares (15.6 million acres) planned for the current crop due to fewer leafhopper insects plaguing the area, after recent harvests sustained major losses due to the bug, a major grains exchange said on Thursday.

* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soyoil futures contracts and net sellers of soymeal and wheat contracts on Thursday, traders said. Funds were net even in soybean and corn contracts.

* World stock indexes dropped on Thursday, with the Nasdaq ending more than 2% lower after Meta Platforms and Microsoft warned of rising costs for artificial intelligence, while the dollar weakened slightly after U.S. data did little to suggest a change to Federal Reserve policy.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0030 Japan JibunBK Mfg PMI Final SA Oct 0145 China Caixin Mfg PMI Final Oct 0700 UK Nationwide House Price MM, YY Oct 0930 UK S&P Global Manufacturing PMI Oct 1230 US Non-Farm Payrolls Oct 1230 US Unemployment Rate Oct 1230 US Average Earnings YY Oct 1345 US S&P Global Mfg PMI Final Oct 1400 US ISM Manufacturing PMI Oct (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; editing by Alan Barona)