At the cash market, basis on crude-degummed soybean oil in central Illinois and the U.S. Gulf remained at depressed levels on Monday. Most sellers held firm on their recent offer levels that straddled 100-200 basis points of the CME’s March soybean oil futures contract.

Soybean oil prices slipped to three-year lows last week, as supply of the feedstock has been outpacing consumption, particularly from the U.S. biofuels sector. Many producers covered their positions through the first quarter of this year, while others throttled back on production in the first few weeks of 2024. This was due to a combination of reasons, including plant problems, and weak prices for renewable identification number (RIN), which have compressed renewable diesel (RD) margins.

Figure 1.

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