Soybean futures traded around $11.7 per bushel, holding near a four-week low as favorable growing conditions across the US Midwest outweighed renewed Chinese buying. China recently purchased about 1 million metric tons of new-crop US soybeans, including 14–16 cargoes, with the USDA confirming nearly 500,000 tons in export sales. State buyers took advantage of last week’s price decline, while purchases were also linked to China’s commitment to increase US soybean imports ahead of President Xi Jinping’s expected US visit in September. The purchases provided support to prices but were insufficient to outweigh bearish supply expectations. Market attention remains focused on crop development as favorable US weather during the critical pod-filling stage kept yield prospects favorable. Elsewhere, diplomatic progress in the Middle East and the potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz drove crude oil prices lower, weighing on biofuel demand.