CBOT soybeans surge on South America weather, slow Brazil harvest

CHICAGO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybeans Sv1 turned sharply higher on Tuesday, reaching prices not seen since September as concerns about weather in South America and the sluggish pace of Brazil's harvest lent support, traders said.

• Soy futures were bolstered by news that tariffs promised by newly sworn-in U.S. President Donald Trump did not immediately materialize, traders added.

• A rebound in Brazil's soybean basis, as the harvest of its new crop inventory remains historically low, also gave Chicago soy futures a boost, said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting.

• Most-active CBOT March soybeans SH25 settled up 33-1/4 cents at $10.67-1/4 a bushel, after hitting the highest point for a most-active contract Sv1 since Sept. 30 during Tuesday's session.

• CBOT most-active March soymeal SMH25 settled up $13.80 at $311.00 per short ton.

• CBOT most-active March soyoil BOH25 increased 0.08-cent to 45.77 cents per pound.

• The exchange's soy futures market was closed on Monday, due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday in the U.S.

• A drop in the U.S. dollar .DXY lent support, making U.S. oilseeds more attractive to those holding other currencies.

• Ongoing doubts over Brazil's safrinha corn production and talk of deteriorating soil conditions in Argentina also gave the grains support, as did building interest from global importers, traders said.

• Brazil's soybean harvest for the 2024/25 season had reached 1.7% of the planted area as of last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday, the lowest level for this time of year since the 2020/21 cycle.

• Recent rains in Argentina's agricultural heartland have not alleviated concerns that ongoing drought could further hurt crop yields, the Rosario grains exchange said in a report released on Monday.

• Brazil's Abiove oilseed group raised its estimate of the South American country's soybean crop to 171.7 million metric tons, up from its December forecast of 168.7 million tons.

(Reporting By P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago; Editing by Nia Williams)

((pj.huffstutter@thomsonreuters.com; 313-484-5275 (w);))