Soybean prices fell slightly on Friday, with November contracts closing down 1 ¼ cents at $10.12, although they gained 5 ¾ cents week over week. The cash bean price stood at $9.50 ¼, and soymeal futures decreased by $2.40 to $3 per ton, while soy oil futures rose by 30 to 43 points. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reported a reduction in managed money’s net short position to 122,415 contracts, a drop of 8,186 contracts.
The USDA announced a private export sale of 121,000 MT of soybeans to China on Friday, while weekly export sales data revealed a total of 15.993 MMT of US soybeans have been sold for the 2024/25 period, down 6% from last year, representing 32% of USDA’s export forecast. Chinese imports of US soybeans in August reached 202,383 MT, nearly double from the previous year, contrasting with Brazilian imports of 10.24 MMT, which increased by 12% year-over-year.
In Brazil, the soybean crop is only 0.5% planted, compared to the 1.6% average pace, with a new crop projection for 2024/25 set at 171.78 MMT.
