Concerns over increased supply rise owing to pick up in harvesting of soybean by farmers. Soybean prices fall after hitting a record two year high in the USA.
Soybean Futures
While November soybean futures on Chicago Board of Trade closed at $10.14, down by 0.1%, futures for January ended at $10.18½. Also, corn futures were down by 0.3% at $3.68-1/2 a bushel. Besides, wheat futures were down by 0.3% at$3.68-1/4 a bushel. The Department of Agriculture, the US said that the farmers had completed 6% and 8% of soybean and corn harvest, respectively.
Prices Fall Due to Harvest Pressure
The marketing year for soybean began on September 1. The soybean prices reached their highest level in over two years owing to high demand from Chinese importers. However, the prices fell for the third consecutive session on Wednesday due to expectations of a good harvest. That apart, Soybean sales to China for the current marketing year tallied at 17.4 million metric tonnes, already above last year’s sales of 17 million metric tons. Sal Gilbertie, head of agricultural commodity brokerage Teucrium Trading LLC said that China’s demand for soybean is immensely high. Jim Sutter, CEO of the US Soybean Export Council, said that the soybean market is pretty good for about the next six months as China is snapping up US soybeans.
China Expected to Import Record Soybean From the USA
The USDA confirmed selling 266,000 tonnes of US soybeans to China and 264,000 tonnes to unknown destinations. The increase in purchase from the Asian nation is rising amid its pledge under the phase-one trade deal. Its current soybean purchases are running at the highest level since 2013. Besides, its corn purchasing levels are about to exceed an annual quota set by the World Trade Organization for the first time. Chinese officials confirm that soybean purchases from the US are likely to continue into January. The US exports the bulk of its beans when the southern hemisphere supplies stock out, which will be toward the end of the year. China will import around 98 million tons from all nations this year, with about 50% coming from the USA.
In all, global demand for soybean is robust even as tensions between China and the USA escalate.