Commodities : Monday, Dec. 30, 1985 : Soybean Futures Prices Rise

Little rain in Brazil helped send soybean futures prices upward Monday on the Chicago Board of Trade, traders said.

Wheat and corn prices were mostly lower, with light trading reported in all the commodities.

Prices for soybeans were supported by the lack of rain in the southern growing regions of Brazil, analysts said.

Brazil, a chief competitor of the United States for world markets, is far behind in its soybean planting due to hot, dry conditions this season and reports say the country should expect to harvest a much smaller crop than last year’s.

In the wheat pit, many traders who were buying Thursday and Friday, were selling those contracts Monday to take profits, said grains specialist Gary Dean in Chicago with Analysts Inc.

Uncertainty over the government’s farm loan program on 1986 crops also kept wheat prices from moving dramatically one way or another, said Bob Lekberg, a grains analyst in Chicago with Shearson Lehman Brothers.

Corn prices were depressed by recent increases in farmer selling, said Lekberg. Wheat settled 3/4 cent to 2 1/2 cents lower, with the contract for delivery in March at $3.45 1/2 a bushel.