August Weather Forecast Could Hinder Soybean Yields

The U.S. soybean crop faces a potentially bleak outlook amid an ongoing drought this month. While August typically serves as a critical growing month for the legume, weather forecasts indicate a sharp reduction in yields, even as global crop stockpiles sit at a six-year low and U.S. soybean acreage fell below expectations this spring. Soybean futures have risen 6.8% since falling to a seven-month low in late July when the government slashed its estimate for domestic ending stocks by 50 billion bushels.

Overall, U.S. crop conditions deteriorated for six weeks straight, the longest stretch of decline since the 2012 drought. Rains will be critical in the next few weeks as soybean enter their pod-filling stage of development.

Read more on the U.S. soybean crop and drought conditions here.