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US Biofuels Update: Biofuels Feedstock Futures Trade Mixed on Favorable Crop Weather

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Biofuels feedstock futures closed mixed on Tuesday, with the soybean market pressured from favorable planting and growing weather.

The Chicago Board of Trade July soybean futures contract closed 0.88% lower at $11.86 per bushel, while CBOT July soybean oil futures contract settled 0.51% higher at 74.36 cents per pound.

The Nymex July ethanol futures contract settled 1.59% lower on Tuesday at $2.02 per gallon.

Rhett Montgomery, a DTN analyst, said wet weather outlooks continue to weigh on the row-crop markets.

"The soybean market faced the same weather challenges that weighed on corn futures to begin the week, trading lower for the fourth time in the past five sessions on the July contract," Montgomery said.

He added that in the product markets, meal futures turned lower after an exceptionally strong session to close last week, while oil futures eventually turned higher on Tuesday, bolstered by a reversal from daily lows in crude and diesel futures.

On Tuesday, the US Department of Agriculture's Weekly Export Inspection Report showed that soybean bookings totaled 21 million bushels for the week ending May 21.

Total inspections for 2025-2026 are now at 1.291 billion bushels, down 21% from the previous year. USDA is estimating soybean exports to total 1.530 bb in 2025-26, down 19% from the previous year.

Soybean inspections are running behind USDA's estimated pace, even as its soybean ending stocks estimate is 20% larger than the previous five-year average.

For the week ending May 24, USDA reports that 79% of the US soybean crop is planted, up 12% from the previous week and 7% ahead of the previous five-year average for mid-May. Also, 49% of the crop has emerged, well ahead of the five-year average. Illinois and Iowa are 84% and 90% planted.

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