Chicago soybean and corn futures were higher in see-saw trading on the first trading day of 2025, supported by ongoing concerns related to dry weather in South America, especially Argentina, a leading producer of both commodities.
Wheat fell as the dollar rallied and stiff export market competition weighed on prices, analysts said on Thursday.
Volatile Trading
All three commodities had a volatile morning due to thin volumes, with many participants still on vacation following the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Sv1 settled up 1-1/2 cents at $10.12 a bushel. The session high was its highest level since November.
Corn Cv1 ended up 1 cent at $4.59-1/2 a bushel. Wheat fell 5-3/4 cents to finish at $5.45-3/4 a bushel.
Soybeans and corn received support from limited rain and building heat forecast for southern Brazil and Argentina over the next few weeks, said Jim McCormick, co-founder of AgMarket.net.
Dollar Performance
Wheat was pressured by a strong U.S. dollar despite some bitterly cold temperatures in the U.S. Plains on the horizon, which would normally add support, McCormick said.
The U.S. dollar reached a two-year high, building on last year's gains with expectations that U.S. growth will beat that of its peers and the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep interest rates relatively elevated.
A strong dollar tends to make U.S. exports more expensive and less competitive to holders of other currencies.
"The fact of the matter is, it's very hard for us to compete on the world market to begin with. Everyone in the world produces wheat, it seems like," McCormick said. "There's not enough demand to find buyers to push the wheat up."
