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Soybean Meal Trading
Soybean Meal Trading ExplainedEach bushel of soybeans produces about 48 pounds of soybean meal and 11 pounds of soybean oil so the soybean meal market is often closely tied with developments in the soybean market when external factors come into play.
Soybean meal is the dominant protein supplement used in livestock and poultry feeds so herd and flock numbers are major influences on soybean meal consumption and prices. Soy products are also used to manufacture foodstuffs, diet-food products, beer and noodles. Technical uses include adhesives, cleansing materials, polyesters and other textiles.
Soybean Meal Prices / Soybean Meal RatesSoybean meal futures and options are traded at CME Group’s Chicago Board of Trade. The contract calls for physical delivery of 100 short tons (about 91 metric tons) of soybean meal. Like most CBOT agricultural contracts requiring physical delivery, the majority of the soybean meal futures positions are offset prior to the delivery period.
The pricing unit for soybean meal futures is in dollars and cents per short ton with a tick size (minimum price fluctuation) of $0.10 (ten cents) per short ton or $10 per contract. Depending on market conditions, the soybean meal futures price may change by several ticks at a time but always in multiples of the ten-cent increment.
The months for trading soybean meal contracts are January, February, April, June, August, October, and December. The last day of trading for soybean meal futures contracts is the eleventh business day of the contract month.
Soybean Meal InvestingInvesting in soybean meal makes sense to a broadening range of traders as soybeans are increasingly being seen as a renewable resource not only for animal feed but also with its industrial applications. Diesel fuel with a soybean foundation has gained a wider following as an energy source, capturing the attention of the trucking and construction industry. So the economies of these markets impact soybean meal trading as well, an example of intermarket influence.
Soybean Meal Fundamental BackgroundCorn and soybeans are planted in the spring in the United States. Soybean field preparation and planting typically lasts from mid-March through the end of June if soybeans are doublecropped after the winter wheat crop is harvested in southern areas, but the primary planting period in the Midwest where most of the soybeans are grown is during May. Like corn, soybeans are vulnerable to hot, dry weather during the summer growing season. The most critical month for determining soybean yields and the size of the U.S. soybean crop is usually August when blossoming and pod-filling occurs and the quality and amount of soybean meal per bushel of soybeans is determined. Most of the soybean crop is typically harvested in September-October, and soybean meal production usually increases in the winter quarter to its largest level of the year to coincide with the period when animal numbers are usually at their greatest.
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