(Businessweek) – Soybeans rose the most in five weeks on signs of increased demand for U.S. products made from the oilseed amid tightening supplies. Corn and wheat also advanced.
In the week ended April 18, U.S. exporters sold 193,320 metric tons of soybean meal for delivery before Oct. 1, the Department of Agriculture said today. Since the start of the crop year, sales have climbed 37 percent from a year earlier. Soybean processors in central Illinois are paying as much as $1.15 a bushel more than the price of July futures to acquire supplies, said Greg Grow at Archer Financial Services Inc.
“The basis is at a record and a sign that processors can’t source soybeans,” Grow, Archer’s director of agribusiness, said in a telephone interview from Chicago. “Farmers are not selling or have already sold all the soybeans left from the drought-reduced crop last year.”
Soybean futures for delivery in July added 2 percent to close at $13.7225 a bushel at 1:15 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, the biggest gain since March 21. July soybean-meal futures climbed 2.4 percent to $400.10 for 2,000 pounds of the animal feed, the biggest increase since Feb. 19.
Yesterday, the USDA said exporters sold 116,000 metric tons to unknown buyers for delivery in the 12 months that start Sept. 1, after reporting a sale of 392,000 tons to China a day earlier.
Corn advanced on signs of rising demand from ethanol producers and overseas buyers.
U.S. ethanol production rose 2.5 percent in the week ended April 19, a report from the Energy Information Administration showed yesterday. U.S. exporters sold 540,000 tons of corn for delivery after Sept. 1, including 300,000 to China, the USDA said today.
Corn futures for July delivery rose 1 percent to $6.245 a bushel in Chicago. Yesterday, prices increased 0.7 percent after falling to $6.10, the lowest since June 26. Wheat futures for delivery in July climbed 1.7 percent to $7.0375 a bushel on the CBOT, the biggest gain since April 12.
