Soybean Prices Dip Amid Trade Tensions and Harvest Updates

Soybean futures fell during the Monday session, closing down 8 to 14 cents across most contract months. The cmdtyView national front month Cash Bean price decreased by 8 1/2 cents to settle at $9.45 1/4. Additionally, soymeal futures ended the day with losses ranging from $1.50 to $2.20, while soy oil futures dropped by 46 to 63 points. As of this writing, President Trump remains firm on implementing the additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports, with a recent report indicating that agricultural products may be targeted for retaliatory measures.

January Crush and Bean Oil Stocks

In the latest Fats & Oils report, the January crush figure reached 212.5 million bushels, which represents a 2.36% decline from the previous month but is still 9.41% higher year-over-year. Furthermore, bean oil stocks amounted to 2.09 billion pounds at the end of January, marking an increase of 3.06% from last year.

Export Inspections and Market Updates

The Weekly Export Inspections data reported that 695,158 metric tons (25.54 million bushels) of soybeans were shipped during the week ending February 27. This figure is a 20.9% decrease from the previous week and a 40.1% drop year-over-year. China was the leading destination, importing 350,023 metric tons, followed by Egypt with 64,591 metric tons and the Netherlands with 60,384 metric tons. So far, marketing year exports total 37.59 million metric tons (1.381 billion bushels), representing a 9.6% increase over the same period last year.

Brazilian Harvest Progress

According to AgRural, the Brazilian soybean harvest is estimated to be 50% complete as of last Thursday, which is 2% ahead of the same time frame last year.

Latest Price Details

March 25 Soybeans closed at $9.98 1/4, down 13 1/4 cents.

Nearby Cash was priced at $9.45 1/4, down 8 1/2 cents.

May 25 Soybeans closed at $10.11 1/2, down 14 1/4 cents.

November 25 Soybeans closed at $10.18 3/4, down 10 3/4 cents.

New Crop Cash was at $9.55 1/4, down 8 3/4 cents.

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

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