Soyabean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade set a new 2-1/2 year high on Wednesday, buoyed by bullish momentum following the release of the US Department of Agriculture's February supply and demand report. The USDA estimated ending stocks for soyabeans at 140 million bushels, unchanged from January estimates, but ending stocks were much tighter for corn, which led the rally, traders said.
Funds also helped boost prices, buying an estimated 7,000 net contracts, traders said. CBOT March soyabeans ended up 16-3/4 cents at $14.51 per bushel, while new-crop November soyabeans was up 19-1/2 cents at $13.97. March soymeal ended up $2.90 at $388.60 per ton. March soyoil up 0.97 cent at 59.74 cents per lb.
Commodity funds bought a estimated 2,000 soymeal and 4,000 soyoil contracts, traders said. Volume in soyabean futures was estimated at 246,064 contracts, according to data provided by the CME Group and about 40 percent higher than the 30-day average, according to Thomson Reuters data. USDA forecast Brazil's soy crop at 68.50 million tonnes, above an average of analysts' estimates for 68.03 million and above the USDA's January outlook for 67.5 million.