Soybeans Begin Wednesday Trading with Minor Losses

Soybeans opened trading on Wednesday with contracts down 3 to 4 cents across most varieties. The market experienced significant gains on Tuesday, driven by a rise in bean oil prices. By the end of Tuesday’s session, contracts had climbed 19 to 22 cents. Preliminary open interest fell by 6,523 contracts on Tuesday, indicating some short covering activity. CmdtyView reported the national front month Cash Bean price at $9.79, down 21 3/4 cents.

Soymeal futures exhibited mixed results, with contracts varying from an increase of a dime to a decrease of 70 cents per ton. Meanwhile, Soy Oil futures closed the day up by 124 to 255 points.

Strong Bean Oil Performance Linked to Legislative Advocacy

The rise in bean oil prices can be attributed to a coalition of biofuel and oil industry representatives who met with the EPA on Tuesday. They advocated for increasing biodiesel blending mandates to between 5.5 to 5.75 billion gallons, a significant increase from the current mandate of 3.35 billion gallons.

Monthly Reports Indicate Variability in Soybean Production

The monthly Fat & Oils report released Tuesday showed that 189.01 mbu of soybeans were crushed in February. This total exceeded analysts’ expectations, but it represented a decline of 2.28% compared to the same month last year, and it was also 11.07% lower than January’s figures. Additionally, bean oil stocks were reported at 1.924 billion pounds.

Analysts at StoneX have revised their estimate for the 2024/25 Brazilian soybean crop down by 0.8 MMT, setting it at 167.54 MMT, while the USDA projects it at 169 MMT. Furthermore, Brazil’s soybean exports for March are estimated at 16.09 MMT according to ANEC, marking an increase of 0.53 MMT from the previous week’s estimate.

Latest Soybean Futures and Cash Prices

Nearby soybean prices showed the following movements:

• May 25 Soybeans closed at $10.34 1/4, up 19 1/2 cents, currently down 4 1/2 cents.
• Nearby Cash was reported at $9.79, up 21 3/4 cents.
• Jul 25 Soybeans closed at $10.49 1/4, up 21 cents, currently down 3 3/4 cents.
• Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.39 1/4, up 20 cents, currently down 3 1/4 cents.
• New Crop Cash was at $9.78 3/4, up 22 3/4 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 in this article is for informational purposes only. For more details, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy
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The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.