SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were weaker on Friday, seeing a “buy the rumour, sell the fact” reaction to updated biofuel targets from the United States government.
- The United States government set biofuel targets for 2026 at 26.81 billion RINs and 27.02 billion RINs for 2027. Large refiners will be required to make up for 70 per cent of volumes waived. The news was generally seen as supportive for vegetable oil markets, but profit-taking came forward to weigh on prices.
- Positioning ahead of next week’s acreage estimates and quarterly stocks data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was a feature. General expectations are for a three to five million acre increase in U.S. soybean area on the year with similar reductions in corn. Rising fertilizer costs due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has some analysts expecting farmers will shift even more intended corn area into soybeans instead.
- A task force to create a new mechanism for facilitating fertilizer trade and related movement through the Strait of Hormuz was announced by the United Nations on Friday.
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CORN futures were lower, with pre-weekend positioning a feature.
- Brent crude traded above US$110 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate was just over US$100.
- Argentina will allow ethanol blends of up to 15 per cent “to give the industry greater flexibility and to cushion any potential increases in pump fuel prices, protecting consumers,” said the country’s Agriculture Secretariat.
WHEAT futures were steady to higher, with the largest gains in hard red winter wheat.
- Hot and dry conditions across parts of the U.S. Plains were supportive, although there was some moisture in the forecasts for next week.
- An estimated 97 per cent of Russia’s winter wheat crops are in good to excellent condition, report the Russian agriculture ministry.
