BLBG:Soybeans, Corn Decline on Weakening Overseas Demand for U.S. Supplies
Soybeans declined for a second straight session on slowing Chinese demand for supplies from the U.S., the world’s biggest shipper. Corn fell on signs of weakening exports.
Soybean importers, including China, took advantage of record inventories in Argentina and Brazil, the biggest growers after the U.S., Oil World, a Hamburg-based researcher, said yesterday in a report. The climbing stockpiles have spurred lower prices for supplies from South America at a time when adverse weather has threatened U.S. crops.
“We have seen a dearth of new buying from China,” Anne Frick, the senior oilseed analyst for Jefferies Bache LLC in New York, said today in a telephone interview. “South America has plenty of beans to sell to overseas customers.”
Soybean futures for November delivery fell 1.75 cents, or 0.1 percent, to close at $14.2075 a bushel at 1:15 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, capping the first two-day drop since Aug. 25. On Aug. 31, the most-active contract touched $14.65, the highest since July 2008.
Corn futures declined for the fourth time in five sessions on signs that demand is decreasing for supplies from the U.S., the world’s biggest producer and exporter, as growers including France and Ukraine boost output.
Ukraine’s August grain exports quadrupled from July, UkrAgroConsult said today. France’s corn harvest, the European Union’s largest, may reach 15 million metric tons, up from 13.8 million a year ago, Agritel said yesterday.
“The export side of the market is pretty thin,” Charlie Sernatinger, a vice president for ABN Amro Clearing LLC in Chicago, said in an e-mail. “French corn prices are cheaper” than exports from the U.S., he said.
Corn futures for December delivery fell 7.75 cents, or 1 percent, to $7.48 a bushel in Chicago. The grain has risen 25 percent since July 1 as hot, dry weather reduced yield potential in the U.S. Midwest.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at $66.7 billion in 2010, followed by soybeans at $38.9 billion, USDA data show.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.
