Soybean prices have declined to a 40-year low at the start of 2024 as commodities speculators continue to sell the agriculture product.
Rain in Brazil, one of the world’s top soybean producers, has helped to stabilize global supplies and led to selling in soybean futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to start the New Year.
Soybean futures have dropped to $12.36 U.S. per bushel, down 4% in 2024 and the steepest decline since 1984 when the U.S. accounted for nearly 80% of global soybean exports.
Today, America exports about 30% of the world’s soybean supply.
U.S. drought conditions led soybean prices to rally last summer. However, soybean futures fell nearly 15% at the end of 2023 and ended last year with their first annual loss since 2018.
The price decline comes on expectation for a rebound in South American soybean production and a stabilization in global supplies heading into 2024, especially with Brazil getting adequate rainfall.
Futures traders now expect soybean volumes to meet global demand in 2024, particularly with a comeback in production in Argentina and Brazil.
Since peaking in mid-November 2023, the price of soybean futures has fallen more than 20%.
