Soybeans Climb for Second Day on Signs of Increasing Demand

By Luzi Ann Javier

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Soybeans climbed for a second day on increasing signs of improving demand for U.S. supplies, prompting analysts to forecast lower stockpiles in the world’s largest grower and exporter next year.

Soybeans inspected for export at U.S. ports surged 24 percent to 58.3 million bushels in the week ended Dec. 3, from a week earlier, government figures published yesterday showed.

The price of soybeans “is certainly being fueled by expectations of increased imports,” Jonathan Barratt, managing director at Commodity Broking Services Pty in Sydney, said by phone today. China’s purchases are “holding up the market quite nicely,” he said.

Soybeans for January delivery added 1 percent to $10.63 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade at 11:22 a.m. Paris time, adding to yesterday’s 1 percent gain.

U.S. soybean stocks may be 235 million bushels before the 2010 harvest, lower than the 270 million bushels forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in November, according to an average estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Volumes inspected at U.S. ports are up 37 percent to 542.6 million bushels in the marketing year that began Sept. 1 through Dec. 3, the USDA said yesterday.

Soybean production in Mexico, the world’s third-largest importer, may drop 34 percent to 105,000 metric tons this year, from 160,000 tons last year, boosting demand for imports, the USDA said in a report yesterday.

Wheat Rallies

Wheat for March delivery climbed 1 percent to $5.5325 a bushel, the first gain in six days. Milling wheat for January delivery traded on Liffe in Paris was unchanged at 129.75 euros ($192.68) a metric ton.

Output in Australia, the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter, may drop 3 percent from a previous forecast to 22 million tons in the year ending June 30, the Canberra-based Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics said today in an e-mailed statement. That compares with its September prediction of 22.7 million tons and last year’s revised crop of 20.9 million tons.

“That’s still relatively okay,” said Commodity Broking’s Barratt, referring to the Australian output. A weaker dollar may be providing support to wheat and corn prices, he said.

The Dollar Index, which tracks the value of the dollar against six major currencies, slipped 0.2 percent to 75.625 at 11:24 a.m. Paris time.

March-delivery corn also climbed for the first time in six sessions, adding 1.7 percent to $3.9025. The contract had lost 8.1 percent in the five sessions through yesterday.

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