Soybean Prices Soared to a Three-Week High

On Monday, Chicago soybean futures climbed to a three-week high as gains in oil prices contributed to its boost.

Soybean contracts for May delivery went up by 0.49% to $1,512.38 per metric ton on April 03’s Asian afternoon session.

The commodity was supported by good planting and stock reports from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). It reported that March 01’s storage at 1.69 billion bushels had a 13.00% drop from the previous year.

Moreover, a surge in crude oil added benefits to soybean’s price spike. It is due to the more extensive use of grains and oilseeds in producing biofuels.

On Friday, US government officials reported price-supportive data. It showed that funds had gone back to the grains’ bullish side. As a result, it is easing up on the previously established short positions.

Meanwhile, the most-active soybean futures dropped by 3.20%, down as much as 7.30% within the last three weeks. November’s new crop plunged by 9.20% in the time frame, which included a downward streak ending on March 24.

On the other hand, collections from the new soybean stance are somewhat bullish. However, it is less optimistic compared with the data from the same week last two years.

Finance managers had a record of a three-week net sell-off for the futures, nearing 59,000 contracts.

USDA Supports Soybean Prices

On March 31, the USDA fixed US soybean acres and March 01 stocks below the average trade estimates. Therefore, it sent the contracts to a three-week high.

From Wednesday to Friday, the most-active soybean contracts increased by 2.60% as November had an additional 1.20% jump.

Nonetheless, snows in the Northern Plains and possibly cold weather ahead are weighing down on acres. It caused concerns about whether those areas may be planted or not at all.

Also, most of the acres found in the dry Southern Plains remained unclear on how well the areas will yield. It is an issue if they could be harvested at all.