Soybeans were sharply higher on commercial and technical buying, notching new contract highs and building on the week’s earlier gains. Recent rainfall has stabilized soybeans somewhat in Argentina, but coverage in southern Brazil and Paraguay was relatively spotty. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange says 38% of Argentina’s crop is in good to excellent condition, up 8% on the week, while 19% is called poor to very poor, down 8%. Several private and governmental agencies have lowered production estimates for Brazil, with the most recent guess from ABIOVE at 135.8 million tons, 4.2 million under the USDA’s most recent outlook.

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