Chicago | Reuters – U.S. soybean futures rose one per cent on Thursday as reminders of strong domestic demand and a surge in soyoil futures overshadowed pressure from the imminent harvest of a massive Brazilian soy crop, analysts said.
Corn and wheat futures ticked lower, anchored by plentiful global grain supplies.
Chicago Board of Trade March soybeans SH26 settled up 1-1/2 cents, or about one per cent, at $10.53 a bushel while March soyoil futures BOH26 ended up 1.99 cents, or 3.9 per cent, at 52.97 cents per pound.
Read Also
U.S. livestock: Feeder contracts surge, hogs rise
Chicago feeder cattle contracts surged on Thursday. Live cattle and lean hogs also made healthy gains. Most-active April live cattle…
CBOT March corn CH26 settled down 1-3/4 cents at $4.20-1/4 a bushel and March wheat WH26 finished down 2 cents at $5.10-1/2 a bushel.
Soybeans and soyoil drew support from news that the administration of President Donald Trump plans to finalize 2026 biofuel blending quotas by early March, according to sources familiar with the plans.
The administration will keep blending quotas close to its initial proposal, the sources said, while dropping a plan to penalize imports of renewable fuels and feedstocks.
Some analysts said the plan could increase imports of renewables, curbing demand for U.S. soyoil, the main feedstock for biodiesel. Nonetheless, CBOT March soyoil futures BOH26 rallied on the news, surging above the 50-and 100-day moving averages.
“The charts are positive, and the trade wants to believe there is something positive that is going to come out of the administration,” said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities.
Additional support for soybeans stemmed from monthly U.S. crush data. The National Oilseed Processors Association said its members crushed 224.991 million bushels of soybeans in December, slightly above an average of trade estimates and the second-highest monthly crush on record.
Rallies were capped by expectations for a bumper soy crop in top global supplier Brazil, where the harvest is just beginning. Brazilian agency Conab trimmed its estimate of the country’s soybean production to 176.12 million metric tons, down 1 million tons from its December forecast but still a record high.
Separately, agribusiness consultancy Agroconsult raised its Brazilian soy crop estimate to a record 182.2 million tons, up 4 million tons from its previous projection in November.
Corn futures were still consolidating after the USDA surprised grain markets on Monday by increasing its estimate of the 2025 U.S. corn harvest to a new record, while also pegging U.S. quarterly stocks of the cereal at their largest ever.
The International Grains Council on Thursday forecast total world grains production at a record 2.461 billion metric tons, up 31 million tons from its previous projection.
-Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Gus Trompiz in Paris
