(Bloomberg) – Soybeans rose for a second day in Chicago after the U.S. reported its fifth-biggest sale on record in an accord with China, the leading importer of the oilseed.
Exporters sold 1.93 million metric tons to China for delivery by Aug. 31, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Soybeans rallied 17 percent from the lowest in almost 19 months in August as hot, dry weather hurt prospects for the U.S. harvest, which usually starts in September. Farmers will collect 3.149 billion bushels this year, below 3.255 billion estimated in August, the USDA said Sept. 12.
“Ongoing purchases by China continued to underpin the U.S. soybean futures market,” Profarmer Australia, a unit of NZX Ltd., said in a report dated yesterday. It cited speculation about “further cuts to soybean ending stocks in the October report, as well as what the final impact of the recent hot weather will be,” referring to the next monthly update of the USDA’s supply and demand estimates on Oct. 11.
Soybeans for delivery in November added 0.8 percent to $13.5825 a bushel by 5:25 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices are still down 1.7 percent this week after six straight weekly advances, the longest string of gains since 2009.
“Chinese demand for now remains large for soybeans, with contracted volumes already more than 16 million tons, a tonnage that exceeds the volumes of last year at this same time,” Paris-based farm adviser Agritel wrote in a market comment.
U.S. soybean stockpiles at the end of the 2013-14 season will be 150 million bushels, less than the 220 million estimated in August, according to the USDA.
Corn Shipments
Corn for delivery in December climbed 0.9 percent to $4.605 a bushel. U.S. export sales of the grain may have increased to 350,000 tons to 650,000 tons in the week ended Sept. 12 from 332,595 tons in the prior period, according to a survey of five analysts by Bloomberg News. The USDA will release its sales report today.
Wheat for delivery in December rose 1.3 percent to $6.5475 a bushel, headed for a third gain. Export inspections of the grain jumped 56 percent to 46.024 million bushels in the week ended Sept. 12 from a year earlier, the USDA said Sept. 16.
Milling wheat for delivery in November traded on NYSE Liffe in Paris advanced 0.4 percent to 185.75 euros ($251.89) a ton.
