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US Biofuels Update: Soybean Oil Leads Soybean Futures Higher Amid Middle East Uncertainty

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Biofuel feedstock futures closed higher on Monday, with soybean futures tracking soybean oil higher amid uncertainty over the Middle East conflict.

The Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures contract closed 0.28% higher at $11.79 1/2 per bushel, while the CBOT September soybean oil futures contract settled 1.89% higher at 69.53 cents per pound.

The Nymex September ethanol futures contract settled 1.42% higher on Friday at $1.97 per gallon.

Rhett Montgomery, a DTN analyst, said that weather and positioning ahead of the US Department of Agriculture report on Wednesday pressured soybeans.

"The soybean market was supported by a strong session in soybean oil, in turn finding strength due to the rally in outside energy markets," Montgomery said.

He added that, looking ahead to the new crop, sales have been strong this summer, especially compared with last year.

As of the end of July, China has purchased just over 3 million metric tons of US soybeans, with potentially more purchases to come, but it still has a long way to go to the 25 mmt goal for 2026-27 set forth by the White House, the analyst said.

On Monday, the USDA's Weekly Export Inspection Report showed that soybean inspections totaled 14.7 mb for the week ending Aug. 6.

Total inspections for 2025-26 are now at 1.461 bb, down 18% from the previous year. USDA is estimating soybean exports to total 1.520 bb in 2025-26, down 20% from the previous year.

Soybean inspections are running ahead of USDA's estimated pace, at a time when USDA's estimate of soybean ending stocks is 13% larger than the previous five-year average.

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