By Bob Stark, Agricultural Economist

The Arkansas 2016 Soybean Cash Market overcame a weekend decline to post solid daily gains before receding slightly on Friday (Figure 1).  A 4 cent weekend decline was fully recovered on the first trading day and price continued to climb each day, eventually reaching a weekly high statewide average of $10.06 on Thursday.  The Monday opening average was $9.76, 31 cents under the previous Monday opening average.  Daily gains throughout the week more than offset a Friday market adjustment of 3 cents lower.  The Friday closing statewide average was $10.03, an improvement of 23 cents from the previous Friday closing mark.  High daily individual market price of the past week was observed on Thursday with Osceola at $10.23.  Low quote for the week was found at Wynne on Monday with an average of $9.52.  End-of-the-week reported quotes on Friday showed prices ranging from a low of $9.76 at Wynne to a high of $10.19 at both Osceola and West Memphis.  The extreme ending quotes covered a range of 43 cents, a 7 cent widening compared to the previous week and exactly offsetting the previous week change in the price spread.

Figure 1. AR 2016 Crop Soybean Cash Market Prices for July 17-21, 2017

The Arkansas 2017 Soybean Cash Market moved similar to the 2016 Old Crop Market over the past week while maintaining its 7 to 8 cent advantage.  Price fell 4 cents over the weekend and trading opened on Monday at $9.84, 42 cents under the previous week opening price.  Daily gains were posted until average statewide price reached a weekly high of $10.14 on Thursday.  A Friday price correction of 4 cents lower still left the market with a closing statewide average at $10.10, a gain of 22 cents compared to the previous Friday closing average (Figure 2).  High daily individual market price of the past week was observed on Thursday with Osceola at $10.29.  Low quote for the week was seen on Monday at both Jonesboro and Des Arc with each having an average of $9.70.  End-of-the-week quotes saw the Friday closing day prices ranging from a low of $9.94 at both Jonesboro and Des Arc, the only individual markets under $10.00, to a high of $10.25 at both Osceola and Blytheville.  The ending quotes represented a range of 31 cents, a 2 cent widening from the previous week closing range.

Figure 2. AR 2017 New Crop Soybean Cash Market for July 17-21, 2017

(Market average prices stated in this report are unweighted averages of the state markets surveyed by NASS.  Price data was based on USDA LR GR111 Arkansas Daily Grain Reports.)