On the CBOT, the most-active November soybean futures contract settled at 1,318.50, up 30.75 cents per bushel, hitting a fresh two-and-a-half-year high. The rally was driven by a confluence of bullish factors: first, continued Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans the USDA reported on Tuesday a new sale of 136,000 metric tons of new-crop soybeans to China, bringing total confirmed sales to China since July 8 to 5.128 million metric tons, with the majority scheduled for delivery in the 2026/27 marketing year; second, the USDA's weekly Crop Progress report on Monday showed the U.S. soybean good-to-excellent rating falling to 58%, down from 60% the previous week and 65% a year ago, heightening concerns over yield potential; and third, escalating U.S.-Iran tensions triggered a roughly 4% surge in crude oil prices, which lent strength to soybean prices due to their linkage as a biofuel feedstock.