The Chicago soybean futures hit four-week highs this Thursday at strong demand in the United States and the drought in Brazil.
A rebound in soybean meal to August highs helped support the price of the oilseed, operators said. They did not lose sight of the world’s largest soybean supplier, Brazil, which has increased its sales to China this year after a record harvest in the Latin American country.
A drought in Brazil has slowed soybean planting for now and interrupted crop shipments by barge.
“Strong competition from Brazil has been a problem for soybeans, but domestic demand for soybean milling is solid and flour exports are supportive,” said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, analyst at Summit Commodity Brokerage.
Most active CBOT soybean contract rose 0.5% to $483.91after reaching its highest price since September 21, close to US$490.
Weekly U.S. soybean export sales of 1.4 million metric tons for 2023/2024 were up 92% from the previous four-week average and remained within analyst estimates.
Soybean meal export sales of 434,700 metric tons for 2023-24 were also within expectations.
“Flour prices continue to be supported by strong export demand for US flour, a consequence of the poor soybean harvest in Argentina, which has left the United States as the world’s main flour supplier”Pfitzenmaier said.
For corn, weekly U.S. export sales for 2023-24 of 881,300 metric tons were down 15% from the previous four-week average but were within analyst estimates.
However, difficult logistics in Brazil could create a short-term window of opportunity for improving demand for U.S. exports, one broker said.
Corn rose 1.9% to $197.53, while wheat rose 2.2% to $217.98after reaching a three-week high of $5.8975.
Source: Ambito
