On June 19, for the week ending June 16, 2023, Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean oil futures rose for the fourth straight week, with the new benchmark December contract up about 12%, the highest in more than three months, The reason is that market participants expect the US government to increase biofuel blending requirements, soybean oil inventories are lower than expected, soybean crop conditions have declined, and crude oil has risen.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delayed the release of biofuel blending standards for 2023 to 2025 by a week to June 21.
Market participants speculated that soybean oil-based biofuel blends could be raised. Stockpiles data from the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) was also bullish for soyoil.
The report showed that soybean oil inventories at the end of May were 1.872 billion pounds, far below market expectations of 1.942 billion pounds, a decrease of 4.3% from the previous month.
