By Jeff Wilson Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Soybeans rose for the third straight day as U.S. farmers, the world’s biggest producers, withheld supplies after prices slumped in the previous five weeks. Earlier, soybeans fell after China, the leading user, sought to cool its economy. From Sept. 1 to Feb. 4, U.S. exports rose 38 percent from a year earlier, the government said today. China accounts for 62 percent of the total. Unsold supplies before the next harvest will be 210 million bushels, down from 245 million projected in January, the U.S. said this week. “The drop in prices brought in some buying and shut off farmer selling,” said Joseph Vaclavik, a commodity broker at Advantage Traders Group LLC in Chicago. “China is still buying U.S. soybeans, and supplies are going to get tight this summer.” Soybean futures for March delivery gained 2 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $9.45 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. The commodity gained 3.4 percent this week. In the previous five weeks, the oilseed slumped 13 percent. Prices also rose today on speculation that rain in Brazil in the next five days will damage mature crops and delay the harvest, increasing demand for U.S. supplies, said Jason Ward, an analyst at Northstar Commodity Investment Co. in Minneapolis. As much as 2 inches of rain (5 centimeters) fell over 40 percent of the growing region in the past 24 hours, Joel Widenor, the director of the agriculture service at the Commodity Weather Group in Bethesda, Maryland, said in report. About 70 percent of the crop will get as much as 7 inches of rain in the next five days, he said. Brazil’s crop will be a record 66 million metric tons, up from 65 million projected in January and more than the 57 million harvested a year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said this week. Yields Shrink Results from early harvests in Brazil show yields that are as much as 10 percent less than forecast, Ward of Northstar said. “Brazil needs drier weather, or the crops will be smaller than the USDA forecast,” he said. “Farmer selling from Brazil has been curtailed by the drop in prices this year and that could lead to increased demand for U.S. supplies.” Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at $47.4 billion in 2008, followed by soybeans at $27.4 billion, government data show. To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net

Source