-- Biofuels feedstock futures closed higher on Monday, with soybeans surging to a six-week high due to a frost threat to emerging Midwest crops this week and higher crude oil prices amid increased tensions in the Middle East.
The Chicago Board of Trade July soybean futures contract closed 1.58% higher at $12.22 per bushel, while the CBOT July soybean oil futures contract settled 1.90% higher at 76.59 cents per pound.
On Thursday, the June ethanol futures contract on the Nymex ended 1.73% higher at $2.06 per gallon.
Rhett Montgomery, DTN analyst, said the soybean market led the way, as traders had plenty of fundamental factors to trade on.
"The soybean market was bullish on Monday on a few factors such as positive energy influence, optimism ahead of President Trump's visit to China, and possibly weather risk as well with below average temperatures expected through this week across the US grain belt," the analyst said in a daily note.
On the conflict in the Middle East, Montgomery said, "... US and Iran were reportedly in contact through the weekend but remain far apart on the details of any potential deal," Montgomery said.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture on Monday reported that soybean inspections totaled 16.5 million bushels for the week ending April 30.
Total inspections for 2025-26 are now at 1.222 billion bushels, down 24% from the previous year. USDA is estimating soybean exports to total 1.540 bb in 2025-26, down 18% from the previous year.
Soybean inspections are running behind USDA's estimated pace, even as USDA's estimate of soybean ending stocks is 20% above the previous five-year average.