CBOT soybean futures closed lower, weighed down by favorable weather forecasts for the U.S. Midwest, with projections indicating rainfall this weekend across Iowa and Illinoiscritical for soybeans in their key pod-filling stage. Agricultural consultancy Datagro said on Thursday that Brazil's 2026/27 soybean production is expected to reach 185.6 million tons, up from 182.8 million tons in the previous season. However, robust U.S. soybean export demand provided some support. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report showed that for the week ending July 23, current marketing year U.S. soybean export sales registered a net increase of 302,260 tons, up sharply by 436% from the previous week and 255% from the four-week average.