On Friday, soybean futures gained 2 to 4 cents, building on Thursday’s increases of ¼ to 4 cents, with the cmdtyView national average cash bean price rising 3.75 cents to $10.97. The USDA’s latest WASDE report indicated a 35 million bushel increase in soybean crush, while exports were reduced by 35 million bushels, stabilizing the carryout at 350 million bushels. The report also maintained South American output projections at 48 million metric tons for Argentina and 180 million metric tons for Brazil.
Export Sales data for the week of April 2 showed USDA recorded 295,403 metric tons of old crop soybean sales, marking the second lowest total this marketing year but still 71.42% higher than the same week last year. Major buyers included China with 124,700 metric tons, while meal sales reached 363,648 metric tons and bean oil saw net reductions of 1,617 metric tons.
