CANBERRA, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures held at six-week highs on Monday, as speculators bet on higher prices amid strong demand for U.S. beans and soymeal.
Wheat futures fell slightly as shipments from Ukrainian Black Sea ports resumed after a three-day pause, while Corn rose.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.3% at $13.24 a bushel by 0117 GMT.
* CBOT wheat was 0.2% lower at $5.74-1/2 a bushel and corn rose 0.4% to $4.82-3/4 a bushel.
* Soybeans have gained around 4% in October and Monday matched Friday's peak of $13.25, the highest since Sept. 18.
* Soymeal has rallied even faster. CBOT December meal is up 15% this month, having reached a contract high of $448.4 a ton on Friday before falling slightly.
* U.S. soybean meal exports are well on their way to new highs this season with big weekly sales volumes rolling in after a low soybean harvest in top soymeal supplier Argentina.
* Soymeal has experienced a rush of speculative buying in the last couple weeks and speculators trimmed their net short position in CBOT soybean futures in the week to Oct. 24, regulatory data showed.
* Commodity funds were net buyers of soybeans, soymeal and soyoil on Friday, traders said.
* Meanwhile, scarce rainfall due to the El Nino climate phenomenon has caused disparities in the speed of soy planting in Brazil's top grain state Mato Grosso and could impact sowing of second corn, farmers and experts said.
* Moving to wheat, four vessels left Ukrainian Black Sea ports in the Odesa region on Friday as shipping via a new export corridor resumed after a three-day pause, independent transport sector consultancy STC said.
* Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov later said the four vessels were carrying almost 130,000 tonnes of grain.
* The resumption of shipments eased fears that Ukrainian exports could be stifled further.
* Ukraine has so far exported 8.72 million metric tons of grain in the 2023/24 July-June marketing season, agriculture ministry data showed on Friday. By Oct. 28 last year Ukraine had exported 12.34 million tons of grain.
* Wheat prices are near three-year lows due to plentiful exports from Russia. Rainfall in major exporters Argentina and Australia has also helped crops, weighing on prices.
* In monthly data on Thursday, the European Commission cut by 1 million tons its forecast of EU soft wheat exports in 2023/24 to 31 million tons.
MARKETS NEWS
Asian shares slipped on Monday as Israel's push into Gaza stirred fears of a wider conflict ahead of central bank meetings in the United States, Britain and Japan, the latter of which might see a policy tightening. (Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
