Soybean Prices on the Rise

Soybean prices are seeing an upward trend, with futures climbing between 15 and 18 1/4 cents as traders return from a relatively quiet holiday period. On Friday evening, there were an additional 401 deliveries for January soybeans. The national average cash price for soybeans rose by 16 ¾ cents, reaching $9.87 1/2. Meanwhile, soybean meal futures increased by $3.50 to $4, and soybean oil futures rose by 60 to 67 points, with 20 January deliveries of soybean meal reported.

Export inspection data reveals that soybean shipments for the week ending New Year’s Day totaled 980,518 tonnes (51.2 megatonnes). This marks an increase of 24.3% from the week before, although it is down by 26.7% from the same week last year. China was the top destination, receiving 397,069 tons, followed by Egypt at 182,553 tons and Taiwan with 74,996 tons. Overall, shipments for the commercial year hit 16.4 MMT (602.64 mbu), a decrease of 45.3% compared to the previous year.

Export sales data for the week ending December 25 shows soybean sales at 1.178 MMT, which was within the range analysts expected—between 0.7 and 1.8 MMT. Additionally, 66,391 tonnes were sold for the 2026/27 season. Current marketing year sales were up from the previous week and more than double those from the same week last year.

For soybean meal, sales reached 110,642 tonnes, falling short of the forecasted 150,000 to 500,000 tonnes. Soybean oil sales came in at 6,238 tonnes, which was in line with estimates that ranged from 0 to 20,000 tonnes.

Data updated on Friday regarding November crushing indicated that soybean crushing totaled 220.48 mbu for the month. While this shows a decline of 6.7% from the previous month, it still marks an increase of 4.98% from last year. The soybean crush volume for the first quarter of 2025/26 was recorded at 661.74 mbu, representing a gain of 49.5 mbu year-over-year, with the USDA projecting an annual increase of 110 mbu for the entire marketing year. As for soybean oil inventories reported as of November 30, they reached 2.16 billion pounds—surpassing expectations and reflecting a 33.72% increase from last year.

StoneX has adjusted its estimate for Brazil’s 2025/26 soybean harvest to 177.6 MMT, representing a minor increase of 0.4 MMT from earlier projections.

January Soybean Futures

• January 26th: Up 18 1/4 cents to $10.47 3/4
• Cash price: Up 16 3/4 cents to $9.87 1/2
• March 26th: Up 16 1/4 cents to $10.62
• May 26th: Up 15 3/4 cents to $10.74 1/4