OILSEEDS
CBOT soybeans end higher on good exports, Argentina tax plan
CBOT soybeans end higher on good exports, Argentina tax plan
18.12.2023 (XM) - CHICAGO, Dec 18 (Reuters) -Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures ended higher on Monday as good export demand and expectations for higher soy product export taxes in Argentina offset market pressure from recent beneficial rains in dry areas of Brazil.
- CBOT January soybeans SF24 ended 11-1/4 cents higher at $13.27 per bushel. The contract broke through technical chart resistance at its 200-day moving average but failed to breach its 20- and 50-day moving averages.
- CBOT January soyoil BOF24 settled 0.65 cent higher at 50.64 cents per lb, while January soymeal SMF24 closed $7.20 higher at $412.80 per short ton.
- Argentina's government on Monday said it would seek to raise the export tax applied to soybean oil and meal to 33% from a current level of 31%.
- Commodity Weather Group said forecasting models showed narrowing chances for short-term rains in northern Brazil, with crop stress possibly lingering in some areas over the next two weeks.
- A summer storm over the weekend in Argentina has helped quench crops still reeling from a historic drought, a meteorologist said on Monday, although the storm paused operations at a key grains port.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture said 1,411,567 metric tons of soybeans were inspected for export last week, up 41% from the prior week and near the high end of a range of trade estimates.
- Brazil's 2023/24 soybean planting had reached 94% of the expected area as of Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday, up 3 percentage points from the previous week.
Reporting by Karl Plume;
Editing by Sandra Maler