(Bloomberg) – Soybeans rose for a second time this week on signs that drought-reduced crops in South America are boosting demand for supplies from the U.S. Corn fell.
In the week ended March 1, U.S. exporters sold 1.015 million metric tons of soybeans for delivery before Aug. 31, up 85 percent from the previous week, the Department of Agriculture said today. A separate report showed China, the world’s biggest consumer, bought 165,000 tons from exporters. The country may boost imports 5.7 percent next year, the agency said yesterday.
“Soybean export demand is improving, and that is the story going forward,” Jim Riley, a grain broker for the Linn Group in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “China will continue to be a big buyer.”
Soybean futures for May delivery advanced 0.4 percent to $13.3225 a bushel at 10:37 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Yesterday, the oilseed touched $13.39, the highest for the most-active futures since Sept. 21.
Corn futures for May delivery declined 0.7 percent to $6.345 a bushel in Chicago, the third straight drop. On March 5, the most-active contract reached $6.6525, the highest since Nov. 9.
The forecast for soybean output in Brazil, the second-largest producer after the U.S., was cut for a second time this year after dry weather parched crops in the country’s south, the government said.
Growers will reap 68.7 million tons in the crop year that started Sept. 1, lower than the 69.2 million tons estimated on Feb. 9, Conab, the government’s crop-forecasting agency, said in an e-mailed report today. In January, Conab said growers would harvest 71.8 million tons.
The U.S. was the largest exporter of both commodities in the year that ended Sept. 30, according to government estimates.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at $76.5 billion in 2011, followed by soybeans at $35.8 billion, government figures show.
To contact the reporter on this story:Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net
