Soybeans posted gains of 6 to 9 cents across most front months on Friday, as May was up 13 ¼ cents on the week. November saw a 21 ¼ cent gain since last Friday. CmdtyView’s national front month Cash Bean price was up 6 1/2 cents at $9.66. Soymeal futures were down $1.40/ton on Friday, with May down $6.80 on the week. Soy Oil futures were another 93 points higher on the day, with May 315 points in the green this week.

Friday afternoon’s Commitment of Traders report indicated spec traders in soybean future and options were adding another 20,954 contracts to their net short as of Tuesday. They held a net short of 45,959 contracts as of 3/25. 

Weekly Export Sales data has 45.76 MMT of total soybean commitments as of March 20, which is 13% above the same period last year. That is now 92% of the USDA export forecast, behind the 93% average pace from the last 5 years.  

Heading into the Prospective Plantings report on Monday, traders are expecting to see 83.8 million acres of soybeans on average, according to a Bloomberg survey, with a range of 82.5 to 85.5 million acres. March 1 soybean stocks are estimated to total 1.905 bbu, ahead of the March 31 Grain Stocks report. The range of estimates is from 1.823 to 2.016 bbu. 

May 25 Soybeans  closed at $10.23, up 6 1/4 cents,

Nearby Cash  was $9.66, up 6 1/2 cents,

Jul 25 Soybeans  closed at $10.37 1/4, up 6 3/4 cents,

Nov 25 Soybeans  closed at $10.29, up 8 1/2 cents,

New Crop Cash  was $9.65 1/4, up 8 3/4 cents,