Soybean price commentary: Futures extend gains on signs of stronger export demand

The front-month January CME futures contract rose by 5 cents per bushel, or 0.46%, day on day, trading at $11.37 per bu by 1pm US Eastern time.

Futures extended Wednesday November 26’s gains, tracking signs of demand for US soybeans, particularly sales to China.

US private exporters reported sales of 312,000 metric tons of soybeans to China for delivery in the 2025/26 marketing year, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Friday.

US weekly soybean net export sales for the 2025/26 crop year totaled 1.11 million tonnes in the week to October 16, up by 41.1% from the previous week’s 785,000 tonnes, according to data released by the USDA on Friday.

Since November 13, the USDA has been releasing delayed weekly agricultural export sales statistics after the US government reopened following a shutdown between October 1 and November 12 that resulted from a lapse in federal funding.

At origin, the Brazilian Paranaguá paper market on an FOB basis for January loading was unchanged at 50 cents per bu over the January CME futures.

The January-loading Santos FOB premium was also unchanged at 56 cents per bu over the January CME futures.

The FOB February premium in the Paranaguá paper market hub was 7 cents per bu higher at 12 cents per bu over the CME March futures.

In the Santos hub, the February-loading basis followed the same path, being 7 cents per bu higher at 22 cents per bu over the March futures contract.

The January-loading FOB premium in Argentina was stable at 70 cents per bu over January CME futures.

The January-loading FOB premium in the US Gulf fell by 2 cents per bu to 91 cents per bu while in the Pacific Northwest hub it was unchanged at 120 cents per bu, both over the January futures contract.

In China, the world’s main destination market, the Dalian Commodity Exchange soyoil contract increased while the soymeal contract declined from the previous trading day.

The most-liquid January soyoil contract increased by 0.24% to 8,244 yuan ($1,164) per tonne and the corresponding soymeal contract dropped by 0.36% to close at 3,044 yuan per tonne.

The January soybean CFR China (Brazil) premium was assessed at 160 cents per bu over January CME futures, unchanged from the previous assessment and equivalent to an outright price of $474.75 per tonne.

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