
The soy market has stayed relatively firm when compared to corn and wheat. Friday was the exception as beans closed the last trade day of the week with 2 to 7 cent losses. May beans were a net 11 3/4 cents weaker for the week. Soymeal futures closed $0.10 to $1 weaker on the day, with May meal a net $4.60/ton higher Friday to Friday. Soybean oil prices weakened by 32 to 47 points on Friday, for a weekly move of -4.58 cents for May – to the lowest print since July. The March contracts will expire on Tuesday. USDA cited the average cash B100 price in MN at $4.70/gal this week, UNCH from last week’s quote.
The most recent update from CFTC, still behind and as of the 2/21 settle, had soybean spec traders sitting on a 189,009 contract net long. The commercial soybean hedgers were 225,624 contracts net short as of then, which was little changed on net but via 35k contracts fewer OI week to week ahead of the March deliveries. In soymeal, the funds were 154,141 contracts net long. Managed money funds were building their net long in soy oil through the week that ended 2/21, to 34k contracts.
China’s state run Sinograin is stockpiling domestically grown soybeans, with hopes the purchases will boost domestic prices and encourage more 2023 planting.
Mar 23 Soybeans closed at $15.13, down 7 cents,
Nearby Cash was $14.68 3/4, down 3 7/8 cents,
May 23 Soybeans closed at $15.07, down 3 3/4 cents,
Jul 23 Soybeans closed at $14.94 3/4, down 4 cents,
On the date of publication, Alan Brugler did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.