Soybean Futures Decline Amid Mixed Export Sales Data

Market Update: Declining Prices and Export Reports

The soybean market is experiencing losses of 4 to 6 cents for front-month contracts on Thursday. CmdtyView reported a national front-month cash bean price down 5 1/2 cents, now at $9.41 3/4. Similarly, soymeal futures have decreased by $2.70 per ton today, with another 278 deliveries against December soybean meal pushing the total to 2,395. Meanwhile, soy oil futures saw a slight recovery, gaining 40 points. Notably, 401 deliveries were issued against December bean oil, handled by the ADM house account and accepted by a JP Morgan customer.

This morning, the USDA announced a private export sale of 334,000 metric tons of soybeans for shipment in the 2024/25 season to unknown destinations.

Export sales data reveal that soybean sales reached 1.17 million metric tons (MMT) for the week ending December 5, which is below expectations of 1.5 to 2.2 MMT for the 2024/25 season. Although this figure is nearly half of last week’s total, it marks a 17.5% increase from the previous week. China emerged as the largest buyer, purchasing 705,000 MT, while Spain acquired 245,800 MT.

For soymeal, bookings amounted to 176,324 MT, fitting within the expected range of 175,000 to 450,000 MT but marking the second-lowest total of the marketing year. In terms of bean oil, sales reached 63,846 MT, falling within the projected range of 5,000 to 100,000 MT and ranking as the second highest for this marketing year.

After the USDA maintained Brazil’s soybean production estimate at 169 MMT earlier this week, CONAB released their monthly update today, showing a slight increase to 166.21 MMT. Additionally, Abiove revised their figure up by 1 MMT to 168.7 MMT.

Jan 25 Soybeans are priced at $9.90, a decrease of 5 1/2 cents.

Nearby Cash stands at $9.41 3/4, down 5 1/2 cents.

Mar 25 Soybeans are at $9.97 1/4, reflecting a drop of 5 1/2 cents.

Jul 25 Soybeans are priced at $10.19, down 4 1/2 cents.

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data are presented solely for informational purposes. For further details, please review the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

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