Soybean futures are adding to their losses to close out the trading week as the crop fell below $13. The agricultural product has been on a downward trend since peaking at $16.67, slumping more than 16% over the last month. From the US Supreme Court to growing output to China cracking down on the commodities market, soybean has been under assault at all fronts.
September soybean futures tumbled $0.1625, or 1.24%, to $12.7575 per bushel at 17:47 GMT on Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT). Soybean prices will post a weekly slide of nearly 3%. Year-to-date, soybean is now down 2.5%.
On Friday, the Supreme Court of the United States made a ruling that enhanced a bid by smaller crude oil refineries attempting to receive exemptions from laws mandating them to blend ethanol and other biofuels for their products.
The agricultural sector had been paying close attention to the case, and the conclusion is considered a significant setback for biofuel products. This would substantially harm soybean demand.
Investors will now turn their attention to the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) acreage report scheduled to be released on June 30. Industry observers anticipate that the US government will bolster its corn and soybean area estimates from its March projections.
Meanwhile, the USDA recently confirmed that 91% of soybeans planted in the US have emerged. This is 5% higher from the same time a year ago and above the five-year average of 85%. The USDA also reported that 60% of soybean crops were in “excellent” to “good” condition.” Thirty-one percent were in “fair” condition.
In other industry news, Brazilian farmers told the government that they plan to increase the nation’s area planted with soybeans to 40 million hectares, up from 37.8 million hectares in the previous crop season. This comes as Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias told an event of agribusiness leaders that the South American country intends to remain the world’s largest producer of oilseeds.
In other agricultural commodities, September corn futures plunged $0.13, or 2.43%, to $5.23 per bushel. September wheat futures dropped $0.0925, or 1.42%, to $6.4275 a bushel. July coffee futures rose $0.001, or 0.06%, to $1.579 per pound.