Some US soy cargoes canceled with margins flagging

American soybean sales to other countries dipped 42% last week to the lowest level in more than two months after unknown buyers canceled orders, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed Friday.

Net sales for the week ended Nov. 19 slumped to 768,100 metric tons, below analyst estimates averaging 980,000 tons. Buyers to unknown destinations canceled 738,900 tons, bringing overall exports to the lowest point since the 2020-21 marketing season began Sept. 1.

Soy prices have surged recently, briefly touching as high as $12 a bushel earlier this week, due to strong buying from China and dry growing conditions in South America. The gains have made it less profitable to turn the beans into animal feed and vegetable oil.

Shipment destinations for the oilseed were mainly China, Mexico, Germany, Indonesia, and Egypt, according to USDA.

Wheat net sales jumped to 795,700 tons, a marketing-year high and up 74% from the prior 4-week average, with China the lead buyer.

Net sales of corn last week stood at 1.67 million tons, up 53% from the previous week and ahead of the average analyst estimate of 1.16 million tons.