Soybeans fall after rain hits some parched crops
Category: Oilseeds
(Businessweek) – The price of soybeans has dropped after rain fell across parts of the Midwest, raising questions about how much the moisture may have benefited crops that have been battered by hot, dry weather.
Soybeans for November delivery fell 44.5 cents, or 2.7 percent, Monday to end at $15.8425 per bushel. Corn prices fell but wheat rose slightly.
The drought has caused widespread damage to crops across much of the country for much of July into August.
Many analysts believe the corn crop is beyond salvage even if rain has fallen. The soybean crop, which was planted later in the season, could have benefited from the rain.
“The debate will heat up this week on whether this really going to help the bean crop all that much, with some of the camp saying it will and some saying it won’t,” Telvent DTN analyst John Sanow said. “Bottom line, even if we do increase from the yield from recent estimates, we’re still going to have a very tight situation moving forward.”
Later this week, the U.S. Agriculture Department will release an updated forecast of supply and demand for corn, soybeans, wheat and other crops.
Corn for December delivery fell 2.5 cents to finish at $8.05 per bushel and December wheat rose 2.5 cents to $9.0625 per bushel.
Lacking fresh economic news, other commodities were mostly higher for a second day on Friday’s U.S. jobs report. The number of jobs created in July beat expectations, which raised hopes that the economy may strengthen and raise demand for commodities.
Gold for December delivery rose $6.90 to finish at $1,616.20 an ounce, September silver gained 6.2 cents to $27.863 per ounce and September copper increased 2.15 cents to $3.389 per pound. October platinum fell $12.50 to $1,401.90 an ounce and September palladium rose $1.35 to $579.55 per ounce.
Benchmark oil rose 80 cents to end at $92.20 per barrel, heating oil increased 1.48 cents to $2.9409 per gallon, wholesale gasoline fell 0.88 cent to $2.9222 per gallon and natural gas gained 3.1 cents to $2.908 per 1,000 cubic feet.
