Soybean futures declined to around $12.70 per bushel, approaching a five-week low, as harvest pressure from an anticipated record-large US crop weighed on prices. Although a wet late summer and early autumn briefly slowed harvesting, the steady arrival of new supplies continued to pressure the market.
As of September 27, the US soybean harvest was 17% complete, in line with the five-year average, and 58% of the crop was rated in good or excellent condition. Additional downside came from expectations of a softer August soybean crush, with processors handling 209.6 million bushels—below the average trade estimate.
Weak Chinese demand also contributed to the decline. Soybeans were excluded from China’s latest round of US agricultural tariff reductions and remain subject to an additional 10% tariff. Chinese crushers have already secured much of their needs through early 2027 from South American origins, while elevated inventories and weak processing margins are curbing new purchases.
Even so, US export demand has stayed relatively solid. Weekly export sales for the 2026/27 marketing year totaled 1.03 million tonnes, including 589,400 tonnes booked by China.
