Soybean Prices Drop on Monday Amid Ongoing Geopolitical Tensions

Soybean Market Update: Prices Dip Amid Global Tensions

On Monday, soybean futures for the near months slipped by 5 to 8 cents, while contracts for the upcoming crop year saw marginal gains. An additional 158 delivery notices were posted on Friday evening. The national average cash price for soybeans, as reported by cmdtyView, edged down 2 cents to $10.91 1/4. Soymeal futures experienced declines ranging from $2.30 to $7.60, whereas soy oil futures advanced by 70 to 92 points. There were 102 deliveries against March soymeal futures reported on Friday night.

Crude oil’s rally, climbing $4.01 after US and Israeli military actions against Iran over the weekend, lent support to soy oil prices. Meanwhile, market participants remained cautious due to uncertainty surrounding China, especially with a key meeting anticipated later this month, following China’s condemnation of the US strikes on Iran.

Export and Production Insights

The Export Inspections report released Monday morning indicated that 1.138 million metric tons (41.8 million bushels) of soybeans were shipped during the week of February 26. This volume was 66.9% higher than the previous week and 62% above the same week last year. China was the top destination, receiving 734,698 metric tons, followed by Germany (132,978 MT) and Mexico (105,122 MT). Since September 1, total soybean exports have reached 26.18 million metric tons (962 million bushels), which is 30.4% lower than the same period a year ago.

According to the latest Fats & Oils report, 227.8 million bushels of soybeans were processed in January, surpassing expectations. This figure represents a 0.87% decrease from December but is 87.2% higher than January of the previous year. Soybean oil inventories increased by 11.72% from the end of December, reaching 2.43 billion pounds—33.9% more than the same time last year.

AgRural estimates that 39% of Brazil’s soybean crop has been harvested, still lagging behind last year’s 50% at this point. The firm also reduced its forecast for Brazil’s total soybean production by 3 million metric tons to 178 million metric tons. StoneX now projects the crop at 177.8 million metric tons, a reduction of 3.8 million metric tons from their prior estimate.

Recent Soybean Futures and Cash Prices

• March 26 Soybeans closed at $11.50, down 7 1/4 cents
• Nearby Cash price settled at $10.91 1/4, down 2 cents
• May 26 Soybeans finished at $11.64, down 6 3/4 cents
• July 26 Soybeans ended at $11.77, down 5 3/4 cents