CBOT soybeans climb on strong US crush pace, biofuels optimism

CHICAGO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rose on Thursday as reminders of strong domestic demand and a surge in soyoil futures overshadowed pressure from the imminent harvest of a massive Brazilian soy crop, brokers said.

• CBOT March soybeans SH26 settled up 10-1/2 cents, or 1%, at $10.53 per bushel.

• CBOT March soyoil BOH26 ended up 1.99 cents, or 3.9%, at 52.97 cents per pound, pushing above its 50- and 100-day moving averages.

• Soymeal futures sagged, with CBOT March soymeal SMH26 closing down $2.70, or 0.9%, at $289.20 per short ton.

• Buying in soyoil accelerated on news that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump plans to finalize 2026 biofuel blending quotas by early March, according to sources familiar with the plans.

• The administration will keep blending quotas close to its initial proposal, the sources said, while dropping a plan to penalize imports of renewable fuels and feedstocks.

• The National Oilseed Processors Association said its members crushed 224.991 million bushels of soybeans in December, slightly above an average of trade estimates and the second-highest monthly crush on record.

• Brazilian government agency Conab trimmed its estimate of the country's soybean crop to 176.12 million metric tons, down 1 million tons from its December forecast but still a record high.

• Agroconsult, a private firm, raised its Brazilian soy crop estimate to a record 182.2 million tons, up 4 million tons from its previous projection in November.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported net export sales of U.S. 2025/26 soybeans in the week to January 8 at 2,061,900 tons, above a range of trade expectations for 800,000 to 1,800,000 tons. EXP/SOY

• Separately, under its daily reporting rules, the USDA confirmed private sales of 204,000 tons of old-crop U.S. soybeans to China, another 470,000 tons to undisclosed destinations and 75,000 tons of new-crop soybeans to undisclosed destinations.