Soybeans futures pare gains ahead of USDA report

Forexpros - Soybean futures pared gains on Thursday, pulling back from a daily high as markets awaited the release of a key monthly report on U.S. and global grain supplies.    
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, soybean futures for August delivery traded at USD13.2788 a bushel during European morning trade, gaining 0.25%. 
It earlier rose as much as 0.85% to trade at a daily high of USD13.3525 a bushel.
The U.S. National Weather Service said on Tuesday that it expected warmer-than-normal temperatures and below-average rainfall across the Mississippi Delta states during the next ten days, potentially threatening yields and reducing the quality of the harvest.
Approximately 65% of the U.S. soybean crop was rated 'good' to 'excellent' as of last week, down from 68% a week earlier and below the five-year average of 67%, USDA data show earlier in the week.
Global agribusiness financial service provider Rabobank said in a report late Wednesday that lower crop ratings were "providing some support to soybeans. The focus is now on crop conditions and their evolution, rather than planting progress."
Meanwhile, the USDA was to release its closely-watched monthly report on U.S. and global soybean stockpiles later in the day. The agency was also to publish data on quarterly stocks as of June 1 as well as a report on acreage estimates.
The data could show that U.S. soybean inventories dropped to levels below last month's projection, as U.S. farmers delayed planting of the crop due to heavier-than-normal rains in early June.
The U.S. is both the world's largest soybean producing nation and the world's largest exporter of the grain.
Elsewhere, corn for September delivery climbed 0.8% to trade at USD6.8413 a bushel, while wheat for September delivery edged 0.22% higher to trade at USD6.7650 a bushel during European morning trade.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at USD66.7 billion in 2010, followed by soybeans at USD38.9 billion, government figures show. Wheat was fourth at USD13 billion, behind hay.
Read more: http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2011-06/soybeans-futures-pare-gains-ahead-of-usda-report.aspx?storyid=83247#ixzz1Qnfe1o00