Chicago soybeans eased further on Friday ahead of the US Department of Agriculture's supply and demand report, although futures were on track for a 3.5% weekly gain supported by Chinese purchases.
The August soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 0.06% to $11.77 per bushel in early trade. The corresponding August soybean oil contract gained 0.43% to 70.22 cents per pound, as crude oil prices continued to rise.
The USDA confirmed another 136,000 metric tons of soybean sales to China on Thursday, following a 472,000 mt sale reported the previous day.
The US also sold 120,000 mt of soybeans to unknown destinations, according to the agency.
Additionally, Chinese grain trader Cofco reportedly purchased at least 10 US soybean cargoes, equivalent to around 600,000 mt.
US offers remain at a premium to Brazilian cargoes by around $0.10 to $0.20 per bushel, according to ADM Investor Services.
The market is now awaiting the USDA's monthly supply and demand report for guidance, price reporting agency MySteel said, with analysts expecting 2026/27 soybean production outlook to increase to about 4.46 billion bushels from the previous forecast of 4.44 billion bushels.
In Asia, Malaysian palm oil futures slipped further on Friday as June industry data showed an increase in domestic production and inventories.
The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives' August crude palm oil contract declined 1.76% to 4,476 Malaysian ringgit ($1,096.90) per metric ton. Nonetheless, prices firmed 0.40% over the week as global energy prices strengthened.
Following a similar trend, the September contract fell 1.76% to 4,513 ringgit/mt on Friday, and gained 0.74% over the week.
Data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board showed that June inventories rose to their highest since March at 2.5 million metric tons. This also represents an increase from the previous month's 2.4 mmt and last year's 2.0 mmt.
Stocks grew as production climbed 8.08% month over month to 1.6 mmt, offsetting a 6.19% rise in exports to 1.2 mmt.
For the first five days of July, cargo surveyors reportedly estimated Malaysian shipments to have further risen between 10.6% and 11.1% from a month earlier.
Despite today's losses, futures recorded their first weekly gain in three weeks, as a recent rise in crude oil prices boosted demand sentiment for biofuels due to improving economics.
Meanwhile, August ethanol prices on the NYMEX increased by a further 0.13% to about $1.93 per gallon on Thursday, as stocks decreased due to lower output and higher exports.