The USDA reported a private export sale of 123,000 tons of soybeans to China this morning. In a CNBC interview, Agriculture Secretary Rollins indicated that the U.S. and China may be “inking a deal this week or next week” regarding the previously announced 12 MMT soybean commitments. U.S. President Trump and China’s President Xi held a phone call on Monday, discussing several matters including soybeans.

Export Inspection data showed that soybean exports for the week ending November 20 totaled just 799,042 tons (29.36 million bushels), the lowest for this week since 2006. This was a drop of 33.7% from last week and a sharp 62.3% decline from the same week last year. Bangladesh was the largest destination with 152,725 tons, followed by Algeria with 140,821 tons and Taiwan with 95,398 tons. China remained largely absent as a destination.

Marketing year shipments now total 10.937 MMT (401.87 million bushels), a 44.5% year-on-year decline.

USDA will release Export Sales data Tuesday morning, with expectations of 0.5–1.4 MMT of corn sales for the week of 10/9. Soybean meal sales are expected between 150,000–400,000 tons, and soybean oil sales between 5,000–30,000 tons.

AgRural reported Brazil’s soybean planting progress at 81% through Thursday, behind 86% last year.