Chicago | Reuters –– CME Group declared force majeure for all soybean shipping stations until further notice because of flooding on the Illinois River, a notice from the exchange operator said Monday.
A majority of facilities on the river, which are delivery points for soybean futures traded on CME’s Chicago Board of Trade, are unable to load crops due to high water levels, according to the notice.
The force majeure declaration means that delivery contracts do not have to be filled in their agreed time frame.
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The move is not expected to have a significant impact on CBOT soybean futures “unless it remains in place for a very long time,” said Terry Reilly, analyst with Futures International in Chicago.
The CBOT January futures contract is in its two-week delivery period but so far no contracts have been delivered against futures. As of Monday afternoon, no contracts were registered for delivery.
The exchange previously declared force majeure on Illinois River soy and corn delivery points in June and July due to flooding. The initial June announcement marked the first declaration of force majeure on the river in more than two years.
— Reporting for Reuters by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago.
