Soybeans Slide Again, as Traders Expect Huge Crop

Soybean prices fell again Tuesday, as traders expect the U.S. crop to come in at a record in the fall.

Favorable growing conditions for U.S. producers are putting downward pressure on prices. Traders are widely expecting this year’s soybean crop to outstrip demand.

The actively traded November contract for soybeans lost 9 cents to settle at $11.16 a bushel. It was the seventh straight day of declines for soybeans.

Soybeans traded as high as $12.43 a bushel on June 26.

Todd Hultman, a grains and beans analyst at DTN, said the U.S. government estimated on June 30 that U.S. growers have planted 84.8 million acres of soybeans, suggesting a record-high crop of 3.8 billion bushels.

Hultman said the weather across growing regions in the U.S. Corn Belt has also been “very pleasant” in July, suggesting that the fall crop will be large.

Other crop futures also fell. Wheat lost half a penny to $5.56 a bushel, and corn fell 2 cents to $4.04 a bushel.

Metals prices closed mixed.

August gold fell 50 cents to $1,316.50 an ounce, September silver was little changed at $21.01 an ounce and September copper edged down less than a penny to $3.26 a pound.

Palladium for October delivery rose $3.95 to $872.90 an ounce. The metal has risen 22 percent this year. September platinum rose 90 cents to $1,496.50 an ounce.

This article appeared in print in the July 9th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.