NOPA October soybean crush seen at 160.478mn bushels

14 Nov, 2016

CHICAGO: US soybean processors likely notched their busiest October ever, analysts said, with a bumper harvest of soybeans and heavy deliveries straight out of the fields fueling crushing operations across the United States.

The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA), the largest US trade group for the industry, is expected to report that its members crushed 160.478 million bushels of soybeans in October, based on the average of estimates given by six analysts.

If realized, that would eclipse the previous October record of 158.895 million bushels, set in October 2015. It would also be the eighth highest crush level for any month.

US farmers had completed 87 percent of what is likely their largest soybean harvest ever as of Oct. 30, according to US Agriculture Department data. That compares with the five-year average for the end of October of 85 percent.

Crush forecasts ranged from 158.300 million to 163.118 million bushels, with a median of 160.350 million bushels. A month ago, NOPA processors crushed 129.405 million bushels of soybeans.

The NOPA report is scheduled for release on Tuesday at 11 a.m. CDT (1600 GMT).

Analysts also forecast that members' soyoil stocks as of Oct. 31 would be 1.323 billion lbs, down from 1.376 billion lbs at the end of September. The median was 1.326 billion lbs, with estimates ranging from 1.240 billion lbs to 1.400 billion lbs.

NOPA reported soyoil stocks of 1.408 billion lbs at the end of October 2015.

NOPA releases crush data on the 15th of each month or the next business day.

Copyright Reuters, 2016

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