Soybean futures are showing slight gains with prices up 3 to 6 cents as of Tuesday morning. As of the previous day’s close, futures had slipped, with front month contracts down ¾ to 1 ½ cents, while deferred contracts saw increases of ½ to 2 ¼ cents. The cmdtyView national average cash bean price is at $11.01 ¼, down ¾ cents. Open interest decreased by 5,075 contracts on Monday, and soymeal futures dropped $2.40 to $6.70, while soy oil futures increased by 102 to 147 points.
The USDA’s Crop Progress report on April 19 indicates that 12% of the U.S. soybean crop has been planted, significantly surpassing the 5% average for this time of year and last year’s 7%. Export inspections recorded shipments of 748,678 metric tons (27.51 million bushels) in the week ending April 16, up 1.3% from the previous week and 33.7% year-over-year, with China being the top destination at 446,146 MT.
In Brazil, AgRural reports that 92% of the soybean crop is harvested, while Safras & Mercado estimates the total crop at 178.11 million metric tons, a slight increase of 0.39 million metric tons from earlier estimates.
