The outlook for the oilseed, which has gained 12 per cent since the beginning of 2026, is bearish from the second half of the year as US farmers are set to shift to soybeans from corn, according to analysts.
“We have raised our average annual price forecast for second-month CBOT-listed soybean futures to 1,130 US cents a bushel, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.7 per cent,” said research agency BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions.
The agency’s upward revision has been underpinned by two key factors: better-than-expected trade volumes between the US and China through late Q4 2025 and early Q1 2026, and price appreciation stemming from the onset of the US-Iran conflict.
