Soybeans were higher on commercial and technical buying, recovering Thursday’s losses, making more new highs, and finishing the week sharply higher. China bought 204,000 tons of 2020/21 U.S. beans Friday morning, their first announced purchase since November 6th, 2020. Unknown destinations have purchased U.S. beans during that period, including old and new crop on Thursday, January 7th, and at least some of that will be switched to China for delivery. The trade continues to watch weather in Argentina and Brazil, with the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange reporting 94% of Argentina’s crop is planted and Brazil’s crop about a month away from widespread harvest activity.
