U.S. soybeans trade near 1-week high amid robust demand

Investing.com - U.S. soybean futures traded near a one-week high on Tuesday, amid indications of robust demand for U.S. supplies.

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, US soybeans for January delivery tacked on 4.42 cents, or 0.43%, to trade at $10.3863 a bushel during U.S. morning hours.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday that private exporters sold 235,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China for delivery in the 2014/15 marketing year.

China is the world’s largest soybean consumer, accounting for nearly 60% of global trade of the oilseed.

The agency also reported that soybeans inspected for export delivery totaled 2.8 million tonnes last week, up 52% from the same week a year earlier.

Prices of the oilseed lost 5.2 cents, or 0.51%, on Monday to settle at $10.3360 a bushel as a record harvest in the U.S. neared completion.

According to the USDA, approximately 97% of the U.S. soy harvest was completed as of November 23, up from 94% in the preceding week.

The USDA estimated that this year's soybean harvest will reach a record 3.958 billion bushels.

Meanwhile, US corn for March delivery dipped 0.38 cents, or 0.1%, to trade at $3.7963 a bushel.

On Monday, corn declined 5.0 cents, or 1.3%, to close at $3.8020 a bushel as a record harvest in the U.S. neared completion.

The USDA said that nearly 94% of the U.S. corn harvest was completed as of last week, compared to 89% a week earlier and above the five-year average of 92% for this time of year.

According to the agency, the U.S. will produce 14.407 billion bushels this year, an all-time high.

Elsewhere on the CBOT, US wheat for March traded at $5.4688 a bushel, down 2.52 cents, or 0.46%.

A day earlier, prices of the grain dropped 4.0 cents, or 0.72%, to end at $5.4940 a bushel.

Losses were limited amid speculation freezing weather in the U.S. Midwest will damage the winter-wheat crop.

According to the USDA, nearly 58% of the U.S. winter-wheat crop was rated in "good" to "excellent" condition, down from 60% from the previous week and compared to the five-year average of 64%.

Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.