"A lot of people can only buy soymeal on paper," rather than getting hold of the physical product, said Brian Roach, president at Florida-based broker Roach Ag Marketing.

In Chicago, Terry Reilly at Futures International said that "cash demand is very strong and some commercials are reporting extended converge by end users".

'Fundamentals are bearish'

Still, there are growing concerns that the soymeal rally may be approaching an end, not least thanks to a pick-up in the US harvest pace, thanks to drier weather.

"Tuesday's market action is questioning whether or not a short-term top in the meal market was established," Mr Reilly said, after the December soymeal contract soared to $0.20 from the psychologically important $400-a-short-ton market, only to tumble back and close lower.

"Fundamentals are bearish," he said, adding that "compared to last year, calendar spreads are behaving erratically for this time of year".

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