According to Cofeed, on the week as of November 29th, details of soybean oil inventories and outstanding contracts are as follows:

 

Soybean oil stocks decline further this week as mills are still fulfilling contracts signed previously, but the decline is smaller under growing operation rates. In the week as of Nov. 29th, China’s commercial inventory has totaled 1,060,900 tonnes, down 24,900 tonnes by 2.29% from 1,085,800 tonnes last week, down 219,100 tonnes by 17.12% from 1,280,000 tonnes last month, and down 729,100 tonnes by 40.73% from 1,790,000 tonnes of the corresponding period last year. And the five-year average at the same period is 1,313,300 tonnes. 

 

As mills continue to raise operation rates this week (Nov. 23-29), soybean crush at domestic mills totals 1,775,350 tonnes (meal 1,402,526 tonnes and oil 337,316 tonnes), up 4,650 tonnes, or 0.26%, from 1,770,700 tonnes in the previous week. Meanwhile, operation rates (capacity utilization) reach 48.97%, up 0.13 percentage points from 48.84% in the previous week. Soybean crush is predicted to decline slightly to around 1.72 mln tonnes next week as some mills halt for soybean shortages, and the to increase again to 1.81 mln tonnes that following week. 

 

Fig.: China’s Soybean Oil Stocks in Recent Years