Soybean oil, or soya oil, is a cooking oil which is recovered through extraction or squeezing of the soya plant’s seeds – the so called soybeans.
Soybean oil remains the most widely used edible oil in the United States, with consumption exceeding that of all other fats and oils combined. Bean oil is a major ingredient in cooking oil, margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and shortening. Lecithin is a natural emulsifier derived from soybean oil, and without it, chocolate would separate from cocoa butter and spoil many a sweet moment. It is used as stabilizer, humectant and thickener in almost all industrially manufactured groceries, from sauces over chocolate and ice cream to cookies, pastries and bread rolls. But soybeans — derivatives like bean oil and meal — have many other uses, too. They’re a central ingredient in livestock and poultry feeds, and they’re also an important ingredient in low-fat sources of protein, such as tofu, miso, and soymilk. Technical uses include adhesives, cleansing materials, polyesters, and other textiles.
The peak-oil debate, which is coming to surface now more than ever (it discusses the approaching decrease of the global crude oil outputs), reinforces the usage of soybean oil for the production of biodiesel. Soybean oil literally advertises itself as a substitute for fuel, diesel and heating oil because of its prominent environmental features (high greenhouse climate-neutrality) and its – with 93 % – extremely high energy-efficiency (= required amount of energy for growing and processing). For comparison: the energy-efficiency of corn-ethanol account for ca. 25 %.
The soybean’s price development has direct influence on the soybean oil and soybean meal arising as a by-product from the bean. But it can come to feedback-effects if one of these products is stronger or slighter demanded or produced.
Soybean oil is traded at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), whereby a contract is quoted in U.S. Cent per American pound (lb.) and comprises 60,000 lbs. (1 lb = 0.453592 kg).
Most important stock exchange centers: CBOT
Ticker symbol: on the pit (“open outcry”) BO, at e-commerce (a/c/e): ZL
Tick-size: 0.01 U.S. Cent per lb., 6 US$ per contract.
Contract-cycles: January, March, May, July – October, December.
Contract-size: 60,000 lbs.
Trading hours: Pit (“open outcry”): Monday to Friday, 9.30 a.m. – 1.15 p.m. Chicago time (CT), and e-commerce: Sunday – Friday, 6.31 p.m. – 6.00 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. – 1.15 p.m. Chicago time (CT). Trading ends at 12 a.m. CT on the last trading day.
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