Chicago Board of Trade May soybean oil futures Thursday were down 11 points to 42.39 cents/lb despite weekly data from the US Department of Agriculture showing a slight rise in net export sales.
For the reporting week ended April 17, soybean oil net export sales rose 276 mt to 5,740 mt, the highest reported level in three weeks.
The top countries to which the US sold current marketing year soybean oil were Mexico at 4,846 mt, Dominican Republic at 500 mt and Nicaragua at 427 mt. There was one canceled order of 200 mt from Canada.
Weekly physical exports for soybean oil fell 1,639 mt to 8,421 mt.
The top weekly physical soybean oil export destinations were Dominican Republic at 3,500 mt, Mexico at 3,419 mt, Canada at 901 mt and Nicaragua at 427 mt.
The current marketing year for US soybean oil began September 1 and lasts through August 31.
Net sales are considered a more appropriate indicator for the strength of the soybean oil market. The difference between weekly net export sales and weekly exports is timing, with the agricultural products first bought -- the weekly net export sales figure -- and then physically exported, which is the weekly physical export figure. Soybean oil represented roughly 48.52% of biodiesel feedstock in the US in 2013.
