The daily U.S. soybean crush rate rebounded in February from a weather-slowed pace the prior month, and reached a record high for the second month of the year, analysts said ahead of a National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) report due on Friday.
NOPA members, who handle about 95% of all soybeans processed in the United States, were estimated to have crushed 178.058 million bushels last month, according to the average of estimates from 10 analysts.
If the estimate is realized, it would be down 4.2% from the January crush of 185.780 million bushels but up 7.6% from the 165.414 million bushels processed in February 2023. It would also be the largest February crush on record, topping the previous high of 166.288 million bushels set in 2020.
The February crush estimate suggested that the average processing pace accelerated to 6.140 million bushels a day last month, up from a four-month low of 5.993 million bushels a day in January, when frigid winter weather disrupted operations at some plants. Estimates for the February crush ranged from 170.150 million to 185.480 million bushels, with a median of 177.850 million bushels.
The NOPA report is scheduled for release at 11 a.m. CDT (1600 GMT) on Friday.
Soyoil supplies held by NOPA members as of Feb. 29 were forecast at 1.591 billion lbs, based on estimates from seven analysts. If realized, it would be up 5.6% from the 1.507 billion lbs held by NOPA members at the end of January but down 12.1% from the 1.809 billion lbs in stocks at the end of February last year. They would also be the largest end-of-month stocks since June. Soyoil stocks estimates ranged from 1.467 billion to 1.725 billion lbs, with a median of 1.590 billion lbs.