In the week to Friday January 17, the soybean crush margin in Central Illinois decreased by 10.4% week on week and by 22.6% year on year, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s National Weekly Grain Co-Products Report released on Tuesday January 21.

In the week to Friday, soybean meal prices fell to $300.70 per short ton, down by 1.7% week on week from $305.73 per ton and down by 21.4% year on year.

Soybean prices rose to $10.38 per bushel, up by 3.7% week on week from $10.01 per bu but down by 14.8% from a year earlier.

Soybean oil prices increased to 44.78 cents per lb, up by 5.3% week on week from 42.51 cents per lb but down by 7.8% year on year.

The decline in soybean meal prices led to a crush margin of $1.90 per bu. This represents a drop of 36 cents per bu compared with the previous six-week average of $2.26 per bu.

Market update
Most grain prices on the Chicago…