From Bloomberg:
May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Soybean prices rebounded as export demand erodes inventories in the U.S., the world’s biggest oilseed shipper.
U.S. exporters reported sales of 236,000 metric tons of soybeans in separate deals with China and Egypt, the Department of Agriculture said today. U.S. inventories on Aug. 31, before the harvest, probably will drop 37 percent to a five-year low, the agency said last week.
“The Chinese buying was a surprise to market bears who have been predicting a slowdown,” said Jerry Gidel, a market analyst at North America Risk Management Services Inc. in Chicago. “The Egyptian sales will help to further tighten inventories.”
Soybean futures for July delivery rose 12.75 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $11.4325 a bushel at 10:04 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Earlier, the price dropped as much as 1.5 percent. Before today, the most-active contract climbed 15 percent this year, reaching a seven-month high of $11.5625 on May 15.
The USDA has projected inventories will drop to 130 million bushels, or 3.5 million tons. Gidel said reserves may fall as low as 100 million bushels.
Soybeans are the second-biggest U.S. crop, valued in 2008 at $27.4 billion, government figures show. Corn is the largest at $47.4 billion.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago atjwilson29@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: May 18, 2009 11:05 EDT "
Posts
