Soybean futures extended their downward momentum into Tuesday morning trading, with contracts posting losses ranging from 3 to 7 cents. The prior session saw significant selling pressure originating from bean oil futures, which declined 4 to 15½ cents across most contract months, with nearby contracts experiencing the sharpest declines. Open interest fell by 17,019 contracts, indicating some liquidation of long positions. The national average cash bean price declined 13½ cents to $11.88½ per bushel.
Soymeal futures posted a modest gain of $2.60 to $6.20 on the day, while soy oil experienced more substantial weakness, falling 189 to 227 points. Recent crop progress data from NASS indicated that 91% of the US soybean crop had set pods by August 23, with 6% dropping leaves. Condition ratings declined 1 percentage point to 60% good or excellent, and the Brugler500 index fell 4 points to 357.
Export activity remained robust during the week ending August 20, with the USDA’s FGIS tallying 420,895 metric tons of soybean shipments, representing a 43% increase from the prior week and 6.9% growth compared to the same period in the previous year. Egypt led as the top destination with 116,966 metric tons, followed by Indonesia with 71,630 metric tons and Italy with 60,643 metric tons. However, marketing year exports for 2025/26 total 40.48 million metric tons, placing the cumulative figure 17.9% below the comparable period from the prior year.
Market pressure on bean oil stemmed partly from an EPA report indicating plans to extend the September 1 compliance deadline for refiners by 30 to 90 days. Additionally, broader market sentiment was influenced by geopolitical developments, including reports of planned US tariffs on Chinese goods and an expected meeting between President Trump and President Xi.
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