24.08.2021 (capital.com) - Soya bean prices extended their gains on Tuesday, but news about the possibility of lower US biofuel mandates for 2022 put a lid on prices.

Soya bean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 1% to $13.08 a bushel on Tuesday.

Reuters reported that soya beans recovered on Monday 23 August after dropping to their lowest level in nearly two months the previous Friday on spillover support from equity markets and broad strength in other commodities.

Soya beans dropped on Friday after news that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to recommend reducing federal biofuel blending mandates for 2021 to below 2020 levels, according to Reuters. Soya bean oil is the largest feedstock in the production of biodiesel in the US.

Good weather pressures soya bean price

"The soya bean market was already under pressure from prospects of favourable weather conditions in the US Midwest," Tradingeconomics.com wrote.

In a weekly crop-progress report issued on Sunday 22 August, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that 97% of the country's soya bean crop is blooming, the same as the five-year average, agriculture.com reported.

The website added that USDA rated soya beans 56% good/excellent, just below 57% a week ago. A bumper harvest would make the soya bean price fall.

https://capital.com/soybean-price-rises-reports-on-biofuel-blending-mandate-cap-gain