CHICAGO- Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rallied and soymeal hit a contract high on Friday on strong demand for US supplies, analysts said.
US 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 US 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.”
CBOT January soybeans settled up 19-1/4 cents at $13.19-1/2 a bushel and touched a one-week high. December soymeal finished $12.9 higher at $442.40 per ton after notching a contract high of $448.4 per ton.
Unconfirmed chatter circulated in the markets about China cancelling purchases of Brazilian soybeans. Traders said US 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 US 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 4 cents to close at $5.75-1/2 a bushel at the CBOT.