January Soybean futures closed sharply higher, marking the highest close since September 17 and representing a technical breakout from the month-long downward trending channel. However, there are numerous layers of resistance from previous highs over the next $0.40, and it remains uncertain if the upward move can be extended. Due to the government shutdown, official weekly export sales and daily flash sales data from the USDA are unavailable. Average trade guesses for weekly export sales ranged from 800,000 to 2 million metric tons, compared to the five-year average of 1.04 million metric tons. There was unconfirmed talk of China purchasing 1.26 million metric tons today. The market's main focus is on the upcoming trade meeting between the US and China set for November 1 to discuss trade, as China is the largest buyer of US Soybeans futures and has been an historically late buyer this season. Learn More: https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/agriculture.html #soybeans #agriculture #futures