Soybeans fall on harvest pressure, fund liquidation and demand questions
DBA•Soybean futures fell as harvest supplies, fund liquidation and concerns about export demand and the August crush weighed on prices. The most-active contract touched its lowest level since August 28 and was down 1.43% at $12.74½ a bushel.
1. Harvest and demand weigh
Chicago soybean futures fell on Thursday as fund liquidation, expectations of a lower August soybean crush and concerns about export demand pressured prices. The expected record-large U.S. crop added supply pressure, despite a slower harvest pace after wet weather.
2. Grain market figures
The most-active soybean contract touched $12.73¾ a bushel, its lowest since August 28, and was down 1.43% at $12.74½. Corn fell 0.8% to $4.96¾ a bushel after U.S. corn stocks on September 1 were reported 35% above a year earlier; wheat eased 0.04% to $6.75½, with a Saudi wheat import tender helping limit losses.
3. Crush estimates
Analysts expected the August soybean crush to fall to 6.317 million short tons, or 210.5 million bushels, an 11-month low. That would be 5.1% below July's 221.9 million bushels, based on the average of estimates from seven analysts.
