US soy crush sees improvement in March

US Census Bureau is expected to estimate the March soy crush at 154.9 million bushels, a modest improvement from the prior month, in part owing the rise to a longer month, according to industry analysts.

The soy crush in March remained relatively on par with February levels, with a few more days of crushing during the month offsetting a slower daily crush rate, analysts said.

The daily crush rate was down, as lower crush margins produced some scaled back operations from marginal crushers. Nevertheless, the crush pace remains significantly higher than year-ago levels as US processors have maintained historically large output in advance of upcoming competition from a record-large South American soy crop, according to reports.

Providing the market with an indication of potential changes that could be made in the Census report was the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) crush report. In its April 14 report, the association said the March crush was 149.6 million bushels, up 1.276 million bushels from February.

Meal stocks are expected to decline, as solid demand offsets strong crushing off take in March.

March soymeal stocks are seen declining to 483,200 short tonnes, down from the 700,500 tonnes reported for February.

Soyoil stocks are seen declining to 3.195 billion pounds in the report, down from 3.278 billion the previous month. In the NOPA report, soyoil stocks saw a 113.6 million pound decrease in stocks.

A slower crush on a daily basis served as the catalyst limiting the buildup of soyoil stocks, analysts said.

March soyoil inventories witnessed a decline despite larger production during the month, reversing a five-month trend of inventory builds and demand disappointments, according to reports.