<Nov soybeans settled 26 cents lower at $5.13 a bushel, and Jan beans were
26 cents lower at $5.21 3/4 a bushel. Dec soymeal finished $7.90 lower at
$155.40 a short ton, and Dec soyoil ended 97 points lower at 19.98 cents a
pound.
The USDA said the 2004-05 U.S. soybean crop, which is currently being
harvested, will be a staggering 3.107 billion bushels, breaking the previous
record of 2.89 billion harvested in 2001. Even more burdensome, world ending
stocks this marketing year are expected to be an astounding 59.25 million
metric tons - by far the biggest year-end soybean inventories figure the world
has ever seen, market analysts said.
"We've never been above 39 million metric tons," said Patrick Hayes, >
Soy oil 40c a kilogram [or near enough to a litre] = $1.60 a gallon [more or less]. Diesel fuel now retails at over $2 a gallon across the USA, even in oil-capital Houston. chron.com
People will start blending it into their diesel fuel in home brew systems.
Soymeal at <$155.40 a short ton>
= about 8c a pound, or 17c a kilogram in real measurement.
Since kilograms of beans can be converted to litres of vehicle fuel with some chemistry and hardware and I guess output would be at about 40c a kilogram [or litre, near enough], then with crude oil at $54 a barrel = 150 litres [give or take] = 40c a litre, it's obvious that even soybeans are now a cheap enough feedstock to replace diesel and petrol.
There are probably better crops than soybeans for fuel production, but that's a near-enough marker.
But there's still a LOT of coal, and heavy crudes, that can be used before going to crops, which are more expensive to produce.
Mqurice |
