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- Soybean futures surged today after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its estimate for domestic yields, surprising traders who were expecting an increase.
- In its monthly WASDE report, the USDA forecast soybean production at 4.425B bushels on a yield of 51.2 bushels per acre, below analyst expectations and down from the USDA's October forecast for a 4.448B bushel crop with a yield of 51.5B bushels.
- The reduced yield forecast took traders by surprise after Chicago soybean futures had dropped to their lowest price since December 2020 ahead of the report.
- CBOT soybeans (S_1:COM) for January delivery closed +2% to $12.12 a bushel, while December wheat (W_1:COM) settled +1.4% to $7.78 1/2 a bushel and December corn (C_1:COM) +0.6% to $5.54 3/4 a bushel.
- ETFs: SOYB, WEAT, CORN
- "The market didn't get the bump in [soybean] production, so we've seen aggressive short covering since the numbers came out," says Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives.