Soybean futures have been trading near $10.57 per bushel, edging closer to the highs anticipated for the end of 2025. This elevation in prices is driven by robust demand from US crushers and sustained purchasing activity from China. In December, the US soybean crush achieved its second-highest monthly level ever recorded, indicating increasing production capacity among crushers to satisfy the rising vegetable oil demand from the biofuel sector. This trend accelerated following last fall's US harvest. US export activity also remains robust, as illustrated by the USDA's report of a significant single-day sale of 706,000 tons of soybeans to China this week. For the week ending January 8, US soybean sales for the 2025/26 period reached 2.06 million tons, a 54% increase over the four-week average and the third-highest weekly total of the year. Nonetheless, Brazil's record-breaking harvest is applying downward pressure on prices. Agroconsult predicts that Brazil's soybean production for the 2025/26 season will set a new record at approximately 182.2 million tonnes.