Soybean futures experienced a sharp decline following diplomatic meetings in Beijing, with the November contract settling at 1183'4 and July dropping 36'4 cents to 1192'4. The USDA reported a marketing-year low for soybean export sales at 102,100 metric tons, a 60% drop from the four-week average, although a flash sale of 252,000 metric tons offered some offset. Corn futures and Wheat futures also closed lower, though wheat export sales surged 70% from the prior week. Domestically, U.S. planting progress is running ahead of schedule, with 57% of corn and 49% of soybeans in the ground. Market participants are closely monitoring weather patterns in the Eastern Corn Belt as the season progresses.