Soybean Market Sees Gains Ahead of Upcoming Administration
Contracts surge as traders await new leadership direction
Soybeans experienced a significant increase ahead of Monday’s inauguration. Contracts rose between 10 to 15 cents for the nearby futures, while new crop contracts saw increases of 3 ½ to 7 ¾ cents. The nearby March contract ended 8 ¾ cents higher compared to last Friday. CmdtyView’s national front month Cash Bean price climbed 14 ¼ cents to settle at $9.74 ¾. In the same session, soymeal futures gained $0.20 to $2.80 per ton, while soy oil futures were up by 17 to 66 points.
President-elect Trump had a positive phone conversation with Chinese President Xi, mentioning that the call was beneficial for both countries. Markets and government offices will close on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with regular operations expected to resume on Tuesday.
According to the CFTC Commitment of Traders data, speculators in soybean futures and options shifted to a net long position of 34,833 contracts as of January 14. This marked a change of 63,445 contracts in just one week and represented the first net long position in over a year. Conversely, commercial traders held a net short of 120,158 contracts, which increased by 66,450 contracts from the previous week.
The Export Sales report released on Thursday indicated a rebound in soybean sales, totaling 569,142 metric tons for the 2024/25 marketing year, as of the week ending January 9. This brought the marketing year total commitments to 40.891 million metric tons, which accounts for 82% of the USDA’s export forecast, surpassing the 81% average for this time of year.
Meanwhile, conditions for soybeans in Argentina have deteriorated, with good conditions dropping by 17% to 32%, while poor conditions rose by 13% to 21%, as reported by the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange.
Mar 25 Soybeans closed at $10.34, an increase of 15 cents.
Nearby Cash was $9.74 ¾, up 14 ¼ cents.
May 25 Soybeans closed at $10.44 ¾, gaining 13 ¼ cents.
Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.27 ¾, an increase of 7 cents.
New Crop Cash was valued at $9.62 ¼, up 6 ¾ cents.
On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article are solely for informational purposes. For more information, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
