Soybeans Slightly Higher to Start Monday

Group 1 - Soybean futures experienced a decline, with contracts falling 15 to 17 cents lower on Friday, resulting in a weekly loss of 28 cents for the January contract [1] - The national average cash bean price decreased by 17 cents, settling at $10.06 1/2 [1] - Soymeal futures showed mixed results, with front months increasing by 40 cents to $1.80, while January closed down $4.90 [1] Group 2 - The upcoming Export Sales report is expected to show soybean sales between 0.8-3 million metric tons (MMT) for the week of November 20, with meal sales estimated at 100,000-450,000 metric tons and bean oil sales at 5,000-25,000 metric tons [2] - Commitment of Traders data indicated that spec funds added 35,182 contracts to their net long position, reaching a total of 229,625 contracts net long, the highest since October 2020 [3] - AgRural reported that the Brazilian soybean crop is 97% planted as of Thursday [3]