Soybean Meal — Commitment of Traders

Soybean Meal futures trade on the CBOT in 100-short-ton contracts and represent the high-protein animal feed derived from crushing soybeans. Meal is the dominant value driver of the crush spread (alongside soybean oil), and its COT positioning is closely watched by livestock producers, poultry companies, and crush margin traders. Speculative interest in soybean meal has grown significantly as global protein demand — especially from aquaculture and poultry in Asia — has made meal price volatility a major cost factor for food producers. The COT Index for meal is useful for identifying when fund positioning has disconnected from the crush economics: at record spec-long extremes, meal futures are often pricing in demand that has not yet materialised in physical markets. Commercial hedgers (crushers and livestock feeding operations) provide structural flow that anchors the market. Weekly changes in the meal COT net position track closely with soybean crush rates and are an early indicator of whether the crush spread is likely to widen or compress.