CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended firm
 and at session highs Monday, bolstered by technical buying and crop concerns
 amid only limited U.S. Midwest rain prospects during the next 10 days, traders
 said. 
  
   November soybeans ended 9 3/4 cents higher at $6.17 1/4, December soymeal
 settled $2.90 higher at $192.30 a short ton, and December soyoil ended 22
 points higher at 22.74 cents a pound. 
  
   Along with oversold technical conditions, drier U.S. Midwest crop weather
 outlooks and hot, dry forecasts for pod-filling U.S. Delta fields this week
 underpinned prices, analysts said. 
  
   Overall activity was relatively subdued, with futures managing to find a
 comfort level after the first hour of trade. Heading into the session futures
 had reached oversold conditions in last week's trek to three-month lows. The
 9-day relative strength index (RSI) for November futures ended Monday at 29.47,
 up from Friday's close of 19.53. A RSI reading below 30.00 is considered
 oversold. The November futures managed to settle back above their 200-day
 moving average, a point of major support and resistance. 
  
   The absence of forecasts projecting an extension of last week's cool and wet
 conditions across the soybean belt failed to generate aggressive selling
 pressure, placing increased focus on oversold technical conditions, traders
 said. 
  
   Otherwise, hot, dry conditions in the U.S Delta and concerns that soybean
 plants need another three weeks of timely rains to stabilize and increase yield
 potential enticed participants to buy market strength Monday, said a CBOT
 commission house broker. 
  
   DTN Meteorlogix said unrelenting hot and dry weather is on tap for the
 Mississippi Delta, with mostly dry weather during the next 10 days across the
 Midwest. 
  
   The first reports from crop scouts on the John Deere/Pro Farmer crop tour of
 Midwest fields reported wide variability of soybean crops in South Dakota, with
 as-expected conditions in Ohio. 
  
   Meanwhile, weekly soybean export inspections from the U.S. Department of
 Agriculture totaled 5.522 million bushels, down from 6.800 million last week.
 This was within expectations that ranged from 4 million to 9 million bushels. 
  
   The USDA is scheduled to release its weekly crop progress reports at 3 p.m.
 CDT (2000 GMT). Analysts anticipate crops rated in good-to-excellent condition
 to come in 1 to 3 percentage points higher than last week. 
  
   In pit trades, ADM Investor Services, Cargill Investor Services, Citigroup,
 Prudential Financial and DT Trading each bought 200 November, Refco bought 500
 November and Rand Financial bought 400 November. 
  
   On the sell side, Cargill and UBS Securities each sold 500 November, Tenco
 and Refco each sold 300 November, and Man Financial sold 600 November. 
  
   South American soybean futures ended higher across the board. The September
 futures settled 7 1/2 cents higher at $6.46. 
  
  
    Soy Products 
  
  
   Soy-product futures ended higher across the board, rebounding from last
 week's setbacks on technical buying in relatively quiet trading. Both markets
 followed the lead of soybeans, but soymeal did manage to trim oil share
 percentage. 
  
   December oil share slipped to 37.16%, and the November/December crush was at
 56 cents. 
  
   In soymeal trades, ADM Investor Services and Man Financial each bought 200
 December. Goldenberg Hehmeyer and Refco each sold 200 December, Bunge Chicago
 sold 100 December, and Cargill and Merrill Lynch each sold 100 September. 
  
   In soyoil trades, Calyon Financial bought 200 December, Tenco bought 300
 October, Bunge Chicago, Merrill Lynch and Refco each bought 200 December, and
 Cargill bought 20 October. ABN Amro and Refco each sold 200 September.