MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Soybean rise to US $ 532 a ton in Chicago

The area planted with soybeans in the US was almost 600,000 hectares below market projections, a new USDA report showed

The price of soybeans sprang back to above US $ 500 in the Chicago market Wednesday after a US $ 33.2 rise fueled by a new report on stocks and planting from the Department of Agriculture of the United States (USDA).

As the new document featured data operators had not foreseen, July's figures increased 6.64% (US $ 33.16) to US $ 532.78 per ton, while the August position grew 6.74% (US $ 33.16 ) to settle at US $ 525.43 per ton.

The cereals market also registered a strong increase, with a jump in corn of 3.67% (US $ 10.04) which placed it at US $ 283.45 per ton; while wheat showed a growth of 4.96% (US $ 11.67) at US $ 246.73 per ton.

The new USDA report showed an area planted with soybeans of 35.43 million hectares for the new season in the US, almost 600,000 hectares below market projections, of 36.01 million hectares on average.

The news took operators by surprise and the prices skyrocketed. Something similar occurred in soybean stocks, since the forecast is 20.87 million tons at the end of June, a volume lower than the 21.04 million tons calculated by the market in advance.

In corn, although the USDA indicated an increase compared to March's numbers, it was nonetheless below expectations: 37.5 million hectares, compared to the 37.95 million foreseen.

Market analyst Ariel Tejera told Telam that “all this places the new North American supply of soybeans and corn against the ropes, imposing greater demands on the climate level.” He added that “thus it is possible to think that we will go through months where prices will be very sensitive to forecasts and to the evolution of crops.”

The expert added that the market will be “highly fluctuating, mainly at the rate of the evolution of the climatic perspectives,” in addition to hedge funds which have influenced shifts in prices.

Source: Telam