Soybean futures shrugged off an unimpressive weekly export sales report to keep chugging higher on Thursday. Corn and wheat also gained.
Soybeans continued to draw support from Wednesday’s Truth Social post from US President Donald Trump that China is considering adding to its 2025-26 purchases of American soybean soybeans. China has already bought 12 million tonnes and Trump said China may agree to purchases an additional 8 million tonnes – unexpected demand that could significantly tighten the US soybean balance sheet. Meanwhile, today’s weekly export sales report from the USDA showed bookings of American beans for the week ended Jan. 29 at just under 437,000 tonnes, on the low side of trade expectations. March soybeans climbed another 20 cents to settle at $11.12 ¼, and November was up 11 cents at $10.98 ½. The nearby March soybean contract has now jumped over 32 cents in the last two trading sessions (see chart below).
The gains in soybeans helped to pull corn higher as well, even amid a higher US dollar. Weekly export sales for corn were reported by the USDA at 1.04 million tonnes, on the low end of trade guesses. March corn gained 5 ½ cents to $4.35, and December climbed 3 ¾ cents to $4.61.
Wheat weekly export sales also landed near the bottom of trade expectations at 373,877 tonnes, but the market climbed with the advances in soybeans and corn. March Chicago ended 8 ½ cents higher at $5.35 ¼, and March Kansas City gained 8 ¼ cents to $5.38 ½. March Hard Red Spring was up 4 cents at $5.69 ¾, and March Minneapolis closed with a 5 ½-cent gain to $5.69 ½.
March soybeans: source – Barchart
