New renewable fuel standards to drive US soybean demand

The new standards have spiked soybean prices, but costs should come back down if the weather holds, economist says.

Soybeans Dollars
BitsAndSplits | BigStock.com

Corn and soybean prices rose abruptly on June 13, but it wasn't the then-newly released World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) that triggered the price surge.

The monthly report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) featured few changes from May's figures — just a slight increase in estimated corn exports and production, and for soybeans a slight increase in projected crush for oil. But the report's estimates likely didn't take into account news issued a few hours later that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would adopt more stringent Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which should drive increased domestic demand for biofuels and soybean oil.

Log in to view the full article
Page 1 of 41
Next Page