January soybeans were 9 1/2 cents lower overnight. Palm oil in Malaysia finished slightly higher. Crude oil made a minor new low overnight. The dollar was higher and stocks showed signs of further weakness.

Soybeans moved higher yesterday with traders crediting the strength to short covering, modest fund buying and a lack of bearish news. However, prices moved moderately lower overnight with the January contract making a small new low for the session into the close. Traders said that the new lows in crude and a higher dollar set the weaker tone overnight, and that yesterday's announcement of huge layoffs by Citigroup has brought renewed concern over the extent of the economic slowdown. Export demand and the pace of shipments appear to be continuing to soften from the brisk pace of recent weeks. The weekly crop progress report showed that the soybean harvest is 95% complete compared to 93% last week and 98% last year. The 10 year average for this time of year is 95%. Weather in Argentina was said to be supportive yesterday with scattered weekend rains providing minor relief from dry conditions for the early-developing soybean crop. Conditions are better in Brazil with some rains in the north and welcome dryness in the south. This week's export inspections were 36.8 million bushels, up from just over 34.0 million last week. Total inspections stand at 26.2% of the projected total versus a 5-year average of 27.3%. They need to average 18.0 million bushels to reach the USDA projection. Traders at the Gulf reported softer export demand yesterday. The USDA projects a decline in meal usage of just 1/2 of 1% but poultry production looks down sharply for at least December and January.

Conditions have generally improved in Brazil with scattered recent rains gradually extending the areas with adequate soil moisture in the north and dry conditions allowing more rapid planting progress in Parana. Weather remained dry over the past 24 hours in Argentina, and forecasts are for more of the same for the remainder of the week. In the US, weather is still expected to be dry in the Plains and most of the Midwest through the weekend with the exception of some rain and snow in Kansas on Sunday. Also, some snow may hit the extreme eastern and northern Midwest by this weekend. Iran is in the market for up to 25,000 tonnes of soy oil and up to 20,000 tonnes of sun oil. India is in the market to buy 26,500 tonnes of edible oils by mid-November.