Soybean futures advance on disappointing U.S. crop progress

Futures Pros - Soybean futures snapped two days of losses on Tuesday, after a U.S. government report showed that U.S. soybean plantings lagged behind the pace of recent years, adding to concerns over tightening U.S. supplies.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, soybean futures for July delivery traded at USD13.3025 a bushel during European morning trade, climbing 0.4%. 
It earlier rose to a daily high of USD13.3262 a bushel. 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its weekly crop-progress report published late Monday that approximately 22% of U.S. soybean crops were planted as of May 15, compared with 37% planted during the same week a year earlier and lower than the five-year average of 31% for this time of year.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service said that it expected rainfalls to continue in the U.S. Great Plains through May 21, while heavier precipitation was forecast to return to the U.S. Midwest between May 20 and May 22.
According to the U.S. High Plains Regional Climate Center, the U.S. Great Plains and Midwest received twice the normal amount of rain in the past month.
Heavier-than-normal rains have left fields too muddy to support heavy equipment used in seeding, adding to concerns that U.S. farmers would delay planting of soybean crops, potentially threatening yields and reducing the quality of the harvest.
The U.S. is both the world's largest soybean producing nation and the world's largest exporter of the grain.
Elsewhere, wheat for July delivery shed 0.58% to trade USD7.3388 a bushel, while corn for July delivery added 0.4% to trade at USD7.0062 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.
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