July 13, 2010

US soy futures rise on speculation China may buy more supplies

Soy rose to an eight-week high on speculation that China, the biggest consumer, will purchase more of the oilseed from the US to make up for reduced domestic output.

US exporters sold 116,000 tonnes to China for delivery after August 31, the USDA said late last week. China's soy crop was hurt by temperatures that reached 41 degrees Celsius in northeast regions during the past seven days and too much rain in the south during the past month, said Fred Gesser, a senior meteorologist at Planalytics Inc. in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, soy futures for November delivery rose 7.25 cents, or 0.8%, to $9.5325 a bushel on the CBOT after earlier touching US$9.5875, the highest price since May 14.

The most-active futures rose 5.2% this week, the biggest gain since November.