In the week to January 16, US domestic net soybean oil sales and exports for 2024/25 fell sharply, according to USDA figures released on Friday January 24.

Soybean oil sales were down by 95% and exports tumbled by 93% on the week, both to 2,900 tonnes, as US prices started to lose their competitiveness versus their global counterparts, trading sources told Fastmarkets.

In recent weeks, Argentina’s soybean oil export-basis premiums started to ease after they moved into a premium versus the US basis at several points since October 2024. The shift in basis sparked US export demand from several foreign markets and caused US soybean oil sales and shipments to surge in the final quarter of 2024.

On Friday, Argentina quietly announced a