On Thursday, CBOT soybean futures closed mixed. The benchmark November contract settled 0.75 cents lower at 1319.75 cents per bushel, with a trading range between 1312 and 1331.75 cents. The market came under pressure mainly from profit-taking by longs and the drag from lower crude oil prices. However, soybean meal futures performed strongly. The core driver behind the surge in soybean meal was widespread seasonal shutdowns at crushing plants in the U.S. Midwest, which limited spot soybean meal supply. At the same time, recent heavy rainfall disrupted early harvesting in major producing areas such as Iowa, slowing the delivery of soybeans to processing plants. NOPA reported that August soybean crush totaled 205.46 million bushels, down 5.2% month on month, which was also interpreted by the market as a potential signal of tightening on the soybean meal supply side.