China bought more American soyabeans on Monday as the US Department of Agriculture reported stockpiles of the crop were smaller than traders expected, sending futures prices to nine-week highs. Corn futures approached a seven-week high after the USDA report also showed tighter-than-expected inventories of the yellow grain.
Farmers welcomed the rallies after crop prices plunged last month when the federal agency estimated that this autumn's harvests will be larger than many projected. They have struggled due to low prices, the US-China trade war and historic springtime flooding, which caused unprecedented delays in corn plantings.
China, the world's largest soyabean importer, slashed US imports after the start of the trade dispute last year. Chinese buyers have recently made a string of purchases, though, including up to 600,000 tonnes on Monday, according to traders. Most actively traded soyabean futures were up 2.4% at $9.04 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade by 12:45 pm CDT (1745 GMT). The most-active corn contract was up 3.3% at $3.83-3/4 a bushel. Most-active wheat futures were up 2.3%at $4.98-1/4 a bushel.
The USDA estimated US soyabean supplies as of September 1 at 913 million bushels, below the average estimate for 982 million bushels. Soya stocks, however, were up 108% from the same point last year, due largely to the drop in US exports to China.
The agency cut its estimate for the 2018 soyabean crop by 2.6% to 4.428 billion bushels, which contributed to stockpiles being smaller than expected. That was the largest-ever revision to the soyabean crop in any September USDA quarterly stocks report, said Bill Lapp, president of consultancy Advanced Economic Solutions. Corn stocks were 2.114 billion bushels, the USDA said, below projections for 2.428 billion and down 1% from a year ago. Wheat stocks were slightly above trade expectations at 2.385 billion bushels.
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