In the week to Friday February 21, the soybean crush margin in Central Illinois increased by 3% week on week and by 10% year on year, according to the USDA’s National Weekly Grain Co-Products Report released on Monday February 24.

In the week to Friday, soybean meal prices showed a slight rebound from a four-year low, rising to $296.80 per short ton. This marked a 0.1% increase from $296.45 per ton week on week, but was down by 17% compared with the same time a year prior.

Soybean prices increased to $10.34 per bushel, up by 0.2% week on week from $10.32 per bu but down by 11% from a year earlier.

Soybean oil prices rose to 45.81 cents per lb, up by 1% week on week from 45.25 cents per lb, and up by 4.5% year on year.

The increase in soybean, soybean meal and soybean oil prices led to a crush margin of $1.97 per bu, down by 4 cents per bu compared with the six-week average of $2.01 per bu.

Market update