U.S. Soybean Oil Prices Climb, Record Crush Weighs  

After a seesaw day of trade, U.S. soybean oil prices ended higher on Tuesday coming off of the Martin Luther King Day holiday. An ongoing surge in crude oil markets and fund soybean oil/meal spreading drove soybean oil futures higher at mid-morning. The gains were pared, however, after the midday release of monthly crushing data showed U.S. processors crushed a record high monthly volume, and soybean oil stocks climbed to their highest level in 20 months in December 2021. The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA), which represents about 95 percent of all U.S. soybean crushers, said 186.44 million bushels were crushed during December, up seven million bushels, or almost four percent, on the month. The figure surpassed the prior record of 185.245 million bushels from October 2020 and was higher than the 185 million bushels expected by market analysts. U.S. soybean oil stocks rose to their…