In a national cash market index, soybean prices are surging to levels the U.S. hasn’t seen since 2013, with the national average cash price just 21 cents below the May futures contract price. At $15.13/bushel, it’s still off the all-time high of $17.48 set during the drought year of 2012, but the average cash price is expected to continue climbing despite a slip in export sales demand in the last month. Export buyers like China are sourcing soybeans from Brazil, where farmers just wrapped up harvesting a record-large crop. But Chinese demand will continue, and it’s fueling new speculation that U.S. farmers will plant more soybeans than USDA projected in its Prospective Plantings report in late March. The agency said farmer will plant 87.6 million acres, though analysts say 90 million acres will be required to meet current strong demand. Anything less than that will likely lead to scarcity and even higher price momentum as demand from China has the potential to “clean out both our supplies and Brazil’s supplies in one year,” one analyst said. See more.