The worst drought in at least five decades pushed soybean futures to record highs on Friday, according to Bloomberg.
As the globe's largest grower of the agricultural commodity, the U.S. is in peril of having mass amounts of crops damaged as the drought parches land in the Midwest. As of this past Tuesday, 48 percent of the Midwest was suffering from drought conditions while 33 percent endured the inclement weather one week prior. Soybeans, which were assessed at $35.8 billion last year, trail only corn for top crop in the U.S.
"Soybeans are going downhill fast, and there are few signs for relief," market analyst Gregg Hunt with Archer Financial Services in Chicago told the news source. "Expanding drought will lead very tight U.S. supplies and higher prices to slow demand."
At 9:07 a.m. on Friday, soybean futures gained 1.88 percent, a 31 cent lift to $16.8325 per bushel.
The previous high price for the agricultural commodity was $16.7375 per bushel as established in July 2008.
The next two weeks are unlikely to see very much relief for the parched region, according to Reuters.
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