Soybean Futures Down 8 to 15 Cents Ahead of Export Sales Numbers

Soybean futures in the US are trading 8 to 15 cents lower ahead of the weekly USDA Export Sales report release. Beans at one point were 38 cents off their high yesterday, but still posted double digit gains for the midweek session. Preliminary open interest showed net new buying, up 6,848 contracts. Soymeal also fell more than 3% from early session contract highs, but prices were within 90 cents/ton of UNCH at the close. BO ended the session 15 to 20 points higher, but futures had 130+ point ranges during the session. 

Pre report estimates ahead of the FAS Export Sales data show analysts are anticipating 600,000 MT to 1.2 MMT of soybean bookings from the week of 1/27. New crop sales are expected between 250k and 550k MT. For the products, traders surveyed anticipate the USDA to report 100k to 450k MT of soymeal was sold during the week that ended 1/27. The trade is looking for less than 30k MT of soy oil bookings. 

Malaysian palm oil futures were down 1.4% on Thursday. The Dalian futures market is still closed for the New Year holidays. 

Mar 22 Soybeans  closed at $15.45 1/4, up 16 3/4 cents, down 13 ½ this morning

Nearby Cash  was $14.99 on Wednesday, up 16 1/8 cents,

May 22 Soybeans  closed at $15.49 1/2, up 15 1/4 cents, down 14 ½ this morning

Nov 22 Soybeans  closed at $13.89 3/4, up 7 3/4 cents, down 9 this morning

New Crop Cash  was $13.36 ½ on Wednesday, up 8 cents,