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* Soymeal climbs after USDA confirms export sales to Italy
* Corn, wheat pressured by ample global supplies
* Wheat down 4.5% this week, biggest weekly loss since late June
CHICAGO, April 10 (Reuters) – Chicago soybeans hit a two-week high on Friday and soymeal futures surged more than 4% on firm cash markets and news of an unusual sale of U.S. soymeal to Italy, analysts said.
Corn and wheat futures drifted lower as market players digested increased forecasts for global stocks of both grains in a monthly report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday.
As of 12:58 p.m. CDT (1758 GMT) on Friday, Chicago Board of Trade May soybeans were up 13 cents, or 1.1%, at $11.78-1/4 per bushel after reaching $11.79-1/4, the contract’s highest price since March 26. CBOT May soymeal was up $16.20, or 5.1%, at $333.80 per short ton.
CBOT May corn was down 2 cents at $4.42 a bushel and May wheat was down 2-1/2 cents at $5.72 a bushel.
Soymeal and soybean futures jumped after the USDA confirmed private sales of 100,000 metric tons of U.S. soymeal, used in livestock feed, to Italy.
“A lot of it has to do with Italy buying some soybean meal. They are not a usual buyer of U.S. soybean meal, so that seems to have set the thing off,” said Jack Scoville, vice president of Chicago-based Price Futures Group.
The USDA on Thursday reported strong soymeal sales for the week ended April 2, and sales for the 2025/2026 season to date are 16% ahead of the same time last year. Cash basis offers for soymeal firmed on Friday at several crushing plants in the U.S. Midwest.
CBOT corn and wheat declined after the USDA’s monthly supply and demand report on Thursday confirmed plentiful U.S. and global grain supplies.
Meanwhile, rains were slowing fieldwork in a few areas as farmers were starting to plant corn in the U.S. Midwest.
“Some of the farmers are complaining,” Scoville said, noting that some growers prefer to begin seeding by mid-April. “But they will get over it. Having too much rain generally works out to everybody’s benefit in the long run.”
The U.S. corn crop was 3% planted as of April 5, according to the USDA, which will release an updated weekly progress report on Monday.
CBOT wheat fell for a third consecutive day and was on track for its biggest weekly drop since late June, reflecting global supplies and competition for export business.
Much-needed rain was falling on Friday in parts of the Southern Plains where winter wheat has struggled with drought, but moisture shortfalls were expected to persist in western areas, a factor that supported K.C. hard red winter wheat futures. For the week, CBOT wheat was down 4.5%, its biggest weekly drop since late June, corn fell 2.4% and soybeans were up 1.1%. (Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; Additional reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Paul Simao)
