The September soybean contract on NCDEX hit a one-week high of 3,743 rupees per 100 kg due to concerns about the crop in parts of Maharashtra.

Lower moisture in the soil due to weak monsoon rains in parts of Maharashtra, especially Vidarbha and Marathwada, has led to concern over the crop in these regions.

Monsoon rains so far have been 14% below normal in Vidarbha and 82% below normal in Marathwada. Maharashtra is a key grower of the oilseed.

The rise in prices was also due to a weak rupee against the dollar. Weakness in the rupee makes import of commodities such as soybean expensive for domestic buyers.

Soybeans futures closed 8 to 10 3/4 cents higher in the nearby contracts on Monday. Soybean meal was up $3.10/ton, with soy oil down a point.

President Trump indicated late on Sunday that the Chinese had expressed interest in re-starting talks after his latest tariff move. NASS indicated on Monday afternoon that 94% of the soybean crop was blooming (99% avg) on 8/25, as 79% were setting pods (91% avg) by that same date.

Condition ratings were 2 % higher to 55% gd/ex, as the broader Brugler500 index was 4 points higher at 348. Export inspections of US soybean shipments for the week of August 22 were tallied at 961,964 MT.

That was a drop of 17% from the week prior but 5.95% larger than the same week in 2018. Of the weekly total, 612,822 MT was headed to China, as they try to work off the large amount of unshipped sales before Aug 31.