Soybeans were sharply higher on commercial and technical buying, with most contracts closing limit up, $.70 per bushel higher. The USDA’s acreage estimate was up on the year, but below expectations at 87.6 million acres, and March 1st stocks were the lowest in five years at 1.56 billion bushels. The trade is also watching harvest activity in Argentina and Brazil, but any bearishness attached to that activity was on the back burner and there are concerns about a drier weather pattern lowering yields for some of the late planted crops.

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