Soybean Prices Rise Amid Weather Concern, Wednesday, August 29, 2007 2:51:38 PM
Soybean prices moved higher in U.S. trading on Wednesday as traders expressed concern that adverse weather in the southern U.S. will hinder the crop size. Soybean prices for September delivery was at $8.505, up 3.25 cents on the session. Higher than normal temperatures and rainfall as much as 25% lower than normal throughout the southern United States has led experts to worry about the upcoming yields.According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture`s website, rust was found in a soybean plot in Madison County, Florida, bringing the total of counties with rust issues to 74. In Texas, 25 counties have been impacted, compared to 14 in Louisiana.
Also among agriculture commodities, corn and rough rice moved lower. While wheat and ethanol moved higher. On the New York Board of Trade, cocoa, cotton and orange juice gained for the day, while sugar and coffee prices fell.
Crude oil prices surged after the Energy Information Administration released its report on U.S. oil inventories in the week ended August 24 on Wednesday, showing that crude oil and gasoline inventories fell by much more than analysts had expected. Light sweet crude for October settlement was up $1.58 to $73.31. Oil reached as high as $73.39, its highest mark in two weeks in afternoon trading. The rally helped oil erase the losses it saw on Tuesday when it snapped a streak of four straight winning sessions.
The EIA`s weekly inventory report showed that crude oil inventories fell by 3.49 million barrels following an unexpected increase of 1.89 million barrels in the previous week. Analysts had been expecting a much more modest decline of about 1 million barrels. Gasoline inventories also showed a notable decrease, falling by 3.67 million barrels after falling by 5.71 million barrels in the week ended August 17. The decrease far exceeded analyst estimates of a drop of less than 1 million barrels.
The inventory report also pushed the prices of RBOB gasoline, which added 3.96 to trade at $2.055. Gasoline for September delivery touched a 26-day high of $2.0608 earlier in the morning. Heating oil also rose, adding 7.96 cents to move at $2.0950. September-dated heating oil touched a two-week high of $2.0426 in morning activity.
After closing lower in the two previous sessions, the price of gold regained some ground during trading on Wednesday. Gold for December delivery closed up $1.90 at $675.40 an ounce, although it was well off its best level of the day. The price of gold showed a notable upward move in early trading, reaching a high of $678.20 an ounce after falling $3 an ounce over the past two days. The rebound was partly due to bargain hunting along with some strength in the stock markets. The U.S. dollar continued to see weakness throughout the morning against both the euro and sterling. Gold usually moves in the opposite direction as the dollar. The greenback`s weakness also helped the price of silver, which gained 8 cents to move at $11.845. Overall, silver has been range-bound for 12 days. Copper for September delivery closed up $0.0385 at $3.35 a pound, more than offsetting a significant decline in the previous session.
The economic calendar was light in the U.S. on Wednesday. Traders are looking ahead to several key reports on Thursday. Included on the schedule will be GDP price index data for the second quarter as well as weekly jobless claims figures. Friday will bring the release of PCE deflator data.
Copyright © 2007 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved.
posted by Kalin Tasev @ 2:29 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home