Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rallied and soymeal hit a contract high on Friday on strong demand for U.S. supplies, analysts said.
U.S. soymeal exports are on their way to new highs this season after a poor soybean harvest in top soymeal exporter Argentina earlier this year. Domestic soymeal users, such as hog and poultry feeders, must compete with exporters for limited U.S. supplies.
“We have a resurgence in demand in soymeal once again,” said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at StoneX. “We had a break in price and that uncovered some fresh demand.”
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CBOT January soybeans settled up 19-1/4 cents at $13.19-1/2 a bushel and touched a one-week high (all figures US$). December soymeal finished $12.90 higher at $442.40 per ton after notching a contract high of $448.40 per ton.
Unconfirmed chatter circulated in the markets about China cancelling purchases of Brazilian soybeans. Traders said U.S. soybeans are still more expensive than Brazilian supplies, though.
“There are rumors that China washed out some cargoes of Brazilian soybean, meaning they’ll probably be looking more for U.S. soybeans,” Suderman said. “That’s providing some support.”
Corn settled up 1 1/2-cents at $4.80-3/4 a bushel, while wheat shed four cents to close at $5.75-1/2 a bushel at the CBOT.
Wheat stumbled on news that shipping via Ukraine’s new Black Sea export corridor resumed after a three-day pause.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov denied on Thursday reports by Ukrainian and British firms that the Black Sea export channel had been suspended. The headlines raised uncertainty over Kyiv’s efforts to revive export trade after Moscow in July quit an accord allowing Ukrainian grain shipments through the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s grain exports so far in the 2023-24 season have fallen to 8.72 million metric tonnes from 12.34 million a year ago, according to agriculture ministry data.
In the K.C. wheat market, December futures closed down 11-3/4 cents at $6.43 a bushel after hitting a contract low of $6.39-1/2.
— Reporting for Reuters by Brendan O’Brien and Tom Polansek in Chicago, Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
