CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade ended
 modestly higher Monday but well off earlier highs, trimming advances after
 early buying interest was exhausted, traders said. 
  
   November soybeans ended 5 cents higher at $6.11, December soymeal settled
 unchanged at $187.50 a short ton, while December soyoil ended 71 points higher
 at 23.29 cents a pound. 
  
   Speculative buying fueled the gains, as the market continued its
 consolidation of last week's lows, with spillover momentum from charging soyoil
 futures underpinning prices, analysts said. 
  
   Concerns over the possible crop damage associated with the heavy rains and
 high winds from the remnants of Hurricane Katrina, rumors of Chinese demand and
 spillover momentum from soyoil laid the ground work for the advances. However,
 technically inspired speculative buying was the key driver of the market's
 strength, as futures extended their consolidation from oversold conditions,
 traders said. 
  
   However as the day unfolded, buying interest was exhausted near session
 highs, with fears of a back log of soybean supplies down the Mississippi River
 down to the Gulf as long as the port of New Orleans remains closed applied mild
 pressure to temper the upward tone. 
  
   Nevertheless, futures have seemingly settled into a trading range, finding
 good consumptive buying near the $6.00 level while uncovering solid resistance
 above $6.20 basis November, said Dan Basse of AgResource in Chicago. 
  
   The range bound trade will likely continue until the crop size is known and
 the near term fate of the port of New Orleans is known, Basse added. 
  
   Meanwhile, first notice day for September futures is August 31. Analysts
 anticipate deliveries will fall into a range of 500-1,000 lots. 
  
   In pit trades, Calyon Financial bought 1,000 November, Cargill Investor
 Services bought 1,000 November, UBS Securities bought 700 November, ABN Amro,
 Fimat, O'Connor, Merrill Lynch and RJ O'Brien each bought 500 November, and
 Refco bought 400 November. On the sell side, Bunge Chicago, Cargill and Refco
 each sold 200 November. Commodity fund buying was estimated at 6,000 contracts.
  
   South American soybean futures ended higher across the board. The September
 futures settled 12 cents higher at $6.52. 
  
  
  
   SOY PRODUCTS 
  
  
  
   Soyoil futures ended sharply higher Tuesday, surging to 3 1/2 week highs on a
 combination of commercial and speculative buying. Soaring crude oil futures
 prices provided the spark to ignite the session's rally, with concerns over
 refinery capacity constraints due to hurricane Katrina making biodiesel fuels
 look more attractive, said Basse. 
  
   Adding to the bullish mix was a quick withdrawal of the Indian monsoon,
 raising speculation of increased soyoil imports for India, a leading importer
 of edible oils, Basse added. 
  
   Soymeal futures ended near unchanged levels, unable to attract the
 speculative buying that filtered into the rest of the soycomplex. The lack of
 fresh fundamental news as well as a fund presence in soymeal kept the market
 losing ground to soyoil. 
  
   December oil share climbed to 38.31%, and the November/December crush was at
 57 3/4 cents. 
  
   Looking to September deliveries, analysts look for soymeal notices in the
 zero to 200 lot range with soyoil deliveries in a range of 500 to 1,000 lots. 
  
   In soymeal trades, Calyon Financial bought 300 December, and Citigroup and
 Refco each bought 200 December. Cargill sold 200 September and 600 December,
 and Fimat sold 200 September. 
  
   In soyoil trades, Refco bought 2,000 December, Man Financial bought 1,200
 December, Calyon Financial bought 600 October and 400 December, Term
 Commodities, Cargill Investor Services and Prudential Financial each bought 500
 December, RJ O'Brien bought 700 December. Commodity funds were estimated buyers
 of 7,000 contracts. 
  
   Bunge Chicago sold 500 December, Cargill sold 300 October and 300 December,
 Term Commodities sold 300 December, Citigroup sold 400 October and 500
 December, Fimat sold 300 September, and Refco sold 1,000 December.