Soybeans climb, soyoil soars daily limit on US biofuel proposal
CHICAGO: US soyoil futures surged their daily limit on Friday and soybeans hit a three-week high after the Trump administration proposed biofuel blending requirements that were above trade expectations, analysts said.
Chicago Board of Trade corn futures followed soybeans higher and CBOT wheat rose about 2% on bargain-buying after falling to a four-week low in early moves. As of 10:54 a.m. CDT (1554 GMT), CBOT July soyoil was up 3 cents, its maximum daily limit, at 50.61 cents per pound, while July soybeans were up 25-3/4 cents at $10.68 per bushel. CBOT July corn was up 3-3/4 cents at $4.42-1/4 a bushel and July wheat was up 15-1/2 cents at $5.42 a bushel.
Soyoil, a key feedstock for biodiesel fuel, rocketed higher after the US Environmental Protection Agency proposed to increase the amount of biofuels that oil refiners must blend into the nation's fuel mix over the next two years.
'Just coming in with these volumes ... is extremely positive for our domestic (soybean) crush demand for 2026 and '27. It's a big deal,' said Terry Linn, analyst with Chicago-based Linn & Associates. The EPA's move, which also included measures to discourage biofuel imports, was welcomed by the biofuels industry, which had been lobbying on the issue for months.
A jump in crude oil prices after Israel conducted strikes on Iran lent early support to commodities. 'Obviously the attack on Iran was the number-one news item, but the EPA release is the big item now. It has kind of taken over,' Linn said.
Wheat rose to recover from an earlier four-week low, bucking pressure from the start of the Northern Hemisphere winter wheat harvest. Commodity funds hold a sizable net short position in CBOT wheat futures, leaving the market vulnerable to short-covering bounces.
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