Soybean Futures Prices 2012 Rose on CBOT as US Harvest decline

Soybean futures prices for January 2012 delivery rose 0.7 percent to close at $11.755 a bushel at 1:15 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Yesterday, the price touched $11.67, the lowest for a most-active contract since Oct. 10. The oilseed, down 3.7 percent this week, has dropped 16 percent this year.

Soybeans rose on speculation that the U.S. harvest declined more than the government estimated after dry weather during the summer lowered yields. Corn fell as producers of livestock feed shifted to cheaper wheat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its forecast on this year?s soybean crop for a second straight month on Nov. 9, saying production will fall 8.5 percent to 82.9 million metric tons. Some fields from Minnesota to Tennessee were the driest ever in August, data from National Climatic Center show.

?The soybean crop may get smaller,? Jim Gerlach, the president of A/C Trading Inc. in Fowler, Indiana, said in a telephone interview. ?There is some demand surfacing after the recent drop in prices.? Last year, the U.S. was the world?s leading exporter of soybeans and corn.