Soybeans plummet in Chicago

According to information from TF Agroeconômica, soybeans traded on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) closed Thursday (August 15) with a sharp decline, pressured by a combination of factors that formed a true “perfect storm” for the devaluation of the grain and its derivatives. The July contract, a reference for the Brazilian harvest, fell 2.46%, or 26.50 cents per bushel, quoted at US$10.51. The August contract fell 2.54%, or 27.25 cents, closing at US$10.47. Meanwhile, soybean oil led the losses, with a drop of 5.73%, to US$49.32 per pound. The drop was mainly caused by rumors involving the United States' biofuel policy. There is speculation that the proposal submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the White House foresees a mandatory volume of biodiesel of only 4.65 billion gallons for 2026. This number is lower than the 5.125 billion proposed the previous month by industry groups, which frustrated market expectations. The decline in optimism generated a wave ...