Soybean futures faded late in the day to close 3 1/2 to 5 1/4 cents lower. Nearby meal settled UNCH despite the slumping corn market. Soy oil was down 27 points. NASS put soy stocks at a record 2.716 billion bushels on March 1, a whopping 707 million above year ago.

However, they were 12 million bushels smaller than the average trade guess. USDA was bull friendly on soybean acreage intentions, finding 84.617 million vs. trade ideas north of 86 million and last year’s 89.196 million. If final plantings match intentions, production could drop below disappearance and eat into the massive carryover by a couple hundred million bushels. Export demand is the wildcard. This morning, USDA confirmed the sale of 816,000 MT of soybeans to China for old crop delivery. That was a little over half of the rumored quantity from yesterday