Soybeans climbed to the highest price in more than 16 months on speculation China, the world’s largest importer, may boost overseas purchases, and wheat rose after Japan said it bought from the U.S., Canada and Australia. China bought 180,000 metric tons of soybeans from the U.S., the Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Importers from the start of the marketing year on Sept. 1 through Oct. 7 agreed to purchase 23.3 million tons of U.S. soybeans, up 10 percent from the same period a year earlier, USDA data show. Japan said today it bought 122,861 tons of wheat. “The Chinese are buying U.S. soybeans to sell into the domestic market where prices are higher,” Ker Chung Yang, an analyst at Phillip Futures Pte in Singapore, said in an e-mailed report today. “We would expect the voracious demand from China to last” as long as U.S. supplies are cheaper, he said. Soybeans for January delivery rose 6.75 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $12.305 a bushel at 11 a.m. London time on the Chicago Board of Trade. The price earlier touched $12.35 a bushel, the highest price for the most-active contract since June 5, 2009. May-delivery soybeans in Dalian rose as much as 2.5 percent to 4,341 yuan ($653) a ton, the highest price for the most- active contract since Sept. 1, 2008. U.S. soybeans for January delivery are 69 percent of the value of that contract, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Food costs and residential costs led the 3.6 percent increase in China’s September consumer prices announced today, Sheng Laiyun, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, said at a briefing in Beijing. Food prices climbed 8 percent in September from a year ago. Soybean Imports Imports of soybeans may total 4.65 million tons this month, the China National Grain & Oils Information Center said in e- mailed report today. The volume will be almost the same as in September and higher than the 4.16 million tons estimated by the Ministry of Commerce, it said. Wheat gained after Japan’s purchase. U.S. exporters have sold 18.3 million tons of the grain since the start of the marketing year on June 1, up 50 percent from the same period the prior year, USDA data show. Wheat futures for December delivery gained 2 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $6.85 a bushel in Chicago. The price has gained 43 percent since the end of June as wet weather in Canada and the worst drought in a half-century in Russia hurt global production. Milling wheat for January delivery traded on NYSE Liffe in Paris gained 0.1 percent to 210.75 euros ($295.28) a ton. Corn for December delivery was unchanged at $5.735 a bushel. The price earlier climbed 1 percent to $5.795 a bushel. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.

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