Soybeans rose to a two-month high in Chicago on signs demand for U.S. supplies will remain steady even after China canceled some orders. Wheat climbed as Egypt sought to buy the grain in a third tender in as many weeks.
Soybean exporters reported sales of 360,000 metric tons for delivery by Aug. 31 to unknown buyers, while China canceled orders of 300,000 tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Inspections of the oilseed for shipment since Sept. 1 rose 5.9% from a year earlier to 585.6 million bushels, USDA data show.
“The tight situation in the face of international demand is pushing the market to a new high,” Paris-based farm adviser Agritel wrote in a comment. “News of the cancellation by China helps limit the move, even if sales continue to be large.”
Soybeans for delivery in January gained 0.5% to $13.365 a bushel by 7:44 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices touched $13.405, the highest level since Sept. 20 for a most-active contract. Futures advanced 5.5% in November, poised for the first monthly increase since August.
The oilseed still declined 5.2% this year as global production may rise to a record 283.5 million tons, spurred by bigger South American harvests, the USDA predicts.
“We have a little more certainty around the supply side of the equation, so we’re certainly looking now at the demand side,” Graydon Chong, a grains and oilseeds analyst at Rabobank International, said by telephone from Sydney. Prices “found some support” from the reported export sales, he said.
Wheat demand
Wheat for delivery in March rose 0.7% to $6.605 a bushel on signs of rising demand from importers including Japan and Egypt, the world’s biggest buyer. Milling wheat for delivery in January traded on NYSE Liffe in Paris added 0.5% to 207 euros ($281) a ton.
Egypt will buy at least 60,000 tons of wheat in a tender today and received six offers for grain from France, as well as offers for a cargo from the U.S., Germany and Romania. U.S. export shipments inspected since June 1 rose 44% from a year earlier to 643.6 million bushels, USDA data show.
Corn for delivery in March gained 0.5% to $4.27 a bushel in Chicago, where trading of agricultural products will be closed tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday.
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