Soybeans Rise as Demand for Food, Fuel Commodities May Increase
May 24, 2011, 10:38 PM EDTBy Tony C. Dreibus and Supunnabul Suwannakij
May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Soybeans rose in Chicago on speculation demand will increase for commodities, including those used to make foods and fuel. Wheat and corn were little changed.
U.S. officials inspected 7.8 million bushels of soybeans for export in the week ended May 19, up 43 percent from a week earlier, the Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Inspections are up 3.4 percent in the marketing year since Sept. 1 compared with a year earlier, USDA data show.
“As we enter the 2011/12 season, the theme will switch from supply shocks to demand resurgence,” Abah Ofon, an analyst at Standard Chartered Bank, said in a report today. “There have been tangible stock drawdowns this season, and we believe a number of importers will be looking to restock their silos.”
Soybeans for July delivery gained 12.25 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $13.86 a bushel by 11:04 a.m. London time on the Chicago Board of Trade. The oilseed, used to make food, animal feed and the alternative fuel biodiesel, climbed 47 percent in the past year.
Soybeans also advanced as rains and floods in the U.S. delayed planting, stoking concern supplies will fail to meet demand. About 41 percent of the U.S. crop was seeded as of May 22, down from a five-year average of 51 percent, the USDA said in a report yesterday.
Crop Yields
“Slow planting progress has raised supply concerns,” Ker Chung Yang, an analyst at Phillip Futures Pte, said by phone from Singapore. “Looking ahead, rainfall this week in the eastern U.S. Midwest and in the South may continue to hamper corn and soybean plantings. This further raises the concerns about reduced acreage and yields for both crops.”
Wheat for July delivery fell 1 cent, or 0.1 percent, to $8.02 a bushel. Milling wheat for November delivery traded on NYSE Liffe in Paris slipped 50 cents, or 0.2 percent, to 244 euros ($343.97) a metric ton.
Corn for July delivery gained 0.5 cent, or 0.1 percent, to $7.545 a bushel in Chicago. The grain yesterday reached $7.75, the highest price for a most-active contract since April 27.
--With reporting from Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore, William Bi in Beijing and Whitney McFerron in Chicago. Editors: Dan Weeks, John Deane.
To contact the reporters on this story: Supunnabul Suwannakij in Bangkok at ssuwannakij@bloomberg.net; Tony C. Dreibus in London at tdreibus@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net
