Soy Reserves Decline Most Since 1996 Amid Brazil Drought
This article is for subscribers only.
Global reserves of soybeans are shrinking the most in 16 years as demand for food, feed and fuel rises, creating the biggest-ever exports for U.S. farmers.
Inventories at the start of the next season on Oct. 1 will be 20 percent lower than a year earlier, Jefferies Bache LLC predicts. Prices that rose 8.7 percent since Dec. 30 will gain another 6.7 percent to $14 a bushel by June, the New York-based commodities trader estimates. China signed deals in the week ended Feb. 17 to buy 13.4 million metric tons from the U.S., about what its own farmers grow in a year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture anticipates record global exports in 2012.