March 10, 2009

US soy futures rose 1.3 percent on Monday (Mar 9) on short-covering as traders braced for a further downgrade in world soy stocks.

USDA March world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE) report, due to be released on Wednesday (Mar 11), is expected to show another cut in soy stocks following solid demand from China in recent months.

MF Global Australia trader Brett Cooper said commodities across the board are up on US dollar weakness, adding that in grains complex, it is flushing out a bit of technical short-covering as funds are fairly short all the grains.

Soy futures continued a recovery from a two and a half month low struck early last week by adding to a 2 percent rise on Friday (Mar 6) as high cash prices in the US, caused by a lack of stock in the export pipeline, spilled over into near-month futures contracts.