Soyabean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade soared Tuesday in unison with wheat which notched an all-time high of $8.11-1/4 per bushel as jitters about a shrinking supply of wheat and strong demand ignited technical buying, traders said. New-crop November soyabeans busted through a key resistance level of $9, reaching a seven-week top.
"With wheat prices so strong wheat is going to take acreage away from oilseeds. That's a big part of the rally we're seeing in beans today," said Anne Frick, analyst with Prudential Securities.
"Also one could argue that with the high wheat prices we might use more meal in feed, particularly in Europe," she added. November soyabeans were up 27 cents per bushel at $9.09-1/2 by 11:55 am CDT (1655 GMT), after reaching a high of $9.15-1/2.
Soya products were also strong, with December soyaoil up 0.64 cent at 37.75 cents per lb and December soyameal $10.30 higher at $256. Signs of increased soyameal demand for feed have been surfacing as livestock producers are shying away from high-priced wheat as a feedstuff. European values for all feed grains remain strong, traders said. Additionally, there has been increasing demand for soyameal in Asia.
Global soyameal consumption for the marketing year October 2007 to September 2008 is likely to rise 6.5 percent to 166 million tonnes - up from an estimated 155.89 million tonnes for 2006/07, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World projected.
In recent deals, Philippine importers bought 45,000 tonnes of US soyameal for October shipment, and traders are eyeing another cargo for November, traders said.