Soybean futures slide to seven-week low as dry Midwest weather speeds harvest

what happened

According to TradingView, Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures dropped to their weakest level in seven weeks on Friday. Technical positioning and fund selling weighed on prices, while forecasts for dry weather over the coming week encouraged farmers across the Midwest to bring in crops faster. Harvest supply outweighed the renewed buying that offered some support.

The USDA confirmed private sales of 558,000 metric tons of US soybeans to China on Friday, lifting confirmed sales to China to 1.358 million tons over three days. Another 236,000 tons went to undisclosed buyers, which traders believe are also destined for China. Net weekly export sales for the week ended October 8 totaled 574,000 metric tons, near the bottom of analyst estimates.

November soybeans (SX26) settled 1.75 cents lower at $12.61¼ a bushel after briefly touching their lowest level since August 27, and shed 2.4% over the week. December soymeal (SMZ26) lost $2.70 to $357.10 a ton, while December soyoil (BOZ26) eased 0.02 cent to 67.13 cents a pound.

why it matters

Faster harvesting adds near-term supply to the market and can offset firm export demand from China. Traders will watch weekly export sales and the weather in the coming days to see which factor dominates.

market impact

Soybeans, soymeal, soyoil: faster harvest adds supply and pressures prices, while China purchases give some support.

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