Prices of soybean rose in Indore as demand from crushing units improved. A decline in arrivals also supported prices. In Indore, soybean was sold for 3,800-3,850 rupees per 100 kg, up 20-25 rupees from previous day.

Arrivals in Madhya Pradesh, the largest grower, were pegged at 85,000-90,000 bags (1 bag = 100 kg), compared with 95,000 bags on previous day.

On NCDEX, futures contracts of soybean edged higher tracking firm spot market cues. The most active March soybean contract rose 0.3% to 3,794 rupees per 100 kg.

Soybean futures saw 5 to 8 1/2 cent gains in most contracts. That is following reports that several Memorandum of Understandings are being developed between the US and China.

Meal futures were up 70 cents/ton in the nearby contract, with soy oil leading the way to the upside, up 53 points. At the Ag Outlook Forum, USDA released an 85 million-acre US soybean planting forecast.

That would be down 4.2 million acres from last year if realized. Trade estimates for tomorrows USDA Export Sales report range from 6-9 MMT in old crop sales for the week of 1/10-2/14, with 100,000-600,000 MT for new crop.

The 18/19 bookings would imply a 1-1.5 MMT weekly average. The average trade estimate ahead of Friday’s Fats & Oils report is for 182.5 mbu of soybeans crushed in December.

The USDA Ag Attach in Brazil updated their soybean production estimate to 115.5 MMT, 1.5 MMT below the official USDA number from February 8.