Soybeans Trading Higher Ahead of USDA Report

Group 1 - Soybeans are experiencing gains of 3 to 5 ½ cents in morning trading, following Monday's gains of 3 to 5 cents, with open interest increasing by 5,376 contracts [1] - A private export sale of 264,000 MT of soybeans to China was reported by USDA on Tuesday morning [1] - The cmdtyView national average Cash Bean price decreased by 4 ¼ cents to $10.45 1/2 [1] Group 2 - The Export Inspections report indicated that 1.136 MMT (41.74 million bushels) of soybeans were shipped in the week of February 5, which is 13.8% lower than the previous week and 3.5% lower than the same week last year [2] - China was the largest destination for soybean shipments, receiving 747,198 MT, followed by Mexico with 92,655 MT and Germany with 57,087 MT [2] - The total marketing year shipments of soybeans since September stand at 23.136 MMT (850 million bushels), which is 34.4% below the same period last year [2] Group 3 - Monthly WASDE data is expected to show no major changes to the US soybean stocks number, estimated at 348 million bushels, compared to 380 million bushels in January [3] - Brazil's soybean production is projected to increase by 1.2 MMT to 179.2 MMT, while Argentina's production is estimated to decrease by 0.4 MMT to 48.1 MMT [3] - As of the publication date, March 26 Soybeans closed at $11.10 3/4, down 4 1/2 cents, while May 26 and July 26 Soybeans also showed slight declines [3]