According to Cofeed, in the week as of July 10, details of soybean oil inventories and outstanding contracts in main domestic regions are as follows:

Operation rates fractionally drop this week (July 4-10), as some mills have to suspend production for swelling soybean meal inventories and some for a temporary lack of soybeans. Soybean crush at domestic mills totals 1,999,600 tonnes (meal 1,579,684 tonnes and oil 379,924 tonnes), down 43,100 tonnes or 2.1% from 2,042,700 tonnes in the previous week. Meanwhile, operation rates (capacity utilization) are 57.59%, down 1.24% from 58.83% in the previous week. Soybean crush is predicted to increase to 2.05 mln tonnes and 2.10 mln tonnes in the next two weeks, respectively.

Soybean oil stocks continue a rise this week, but the rise is smaller due to a slight decline in soybean crush and as mills are quickening up deliveries. In the week ending July 10, China’s soybean oil commercial inventory has totaled 1,188,800 tonnes, up 6,520 tonnes by 0.55% from 1,182,280 tonnes last week, up 236,300 tonnes by 24.81% from 952,500 tonnes last month, yet down 239,700 tonnes by 16.78% from 1,428,500 tonnes of the corresponding period last year. And the five-year average at the same period is 1,308,600 tonnes. 

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