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US Biofuels Update: Soybean Futures Race to Yearly Highs

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Biofuels feedstock futures closed at their yearly highs on Wednesday, with soybean prices following a broad-based commodities rally amid what appears to be a dead end in negotiations in the Black Sea.

The Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures contract closed 2.28% higher at $12.66 per bushel, while the CBOT September soybean oil futures contract settled 0.44% lower at 67.22 cents per pound.

The Nymex September ethanol futures contract settled 2.59% lower on Tuesday at $2.06 per gallon.

Rhett Montgomery, a DTN analyst, said that the soybean market raced to new 2026 highs on Wednesday.

"The November board set the highest price for most active futures since early January of 2024. What is seen as capped upside to yield potential, coupled with underestimated demand, is driving prices along with a general sense of bullishness across all row crop futures currently," Montgomery said.

The US Department of Agriculture announced another 12.2 million bushels of soybean export sales to China on Wednesday morning, pushing known sales to at least 252 mb.

The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that for the week ending Aug. 21, US ethanol production averaged 1.11 million barrels per day, up from last week's 1.09 mmb/d and up from last year's 1.07 mmb/d. The four-week average output of 1.11 million b/d was above 1.08 million b/d at the same time last year.

Domestic ethanol inventories ended the week at 25.2 million barrels, compared with 25.1 mmbbls a week ago and 22.5 mmbbls a year ago.

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