Market News & Headlines >> CME Declares Force Majeure on Soybean Shipping Points

CME Group Inc. on Monday afternoon declared force majeure for all soybean shipping stations until further notice because of flooding on the Illinois River, which has left a majority of facilities on the waterway unable to load barges due to high water levels.

A majority of facilities on the river, which are delivery points for soybean futures traded on the Chicago Board of Trade, are unable to load crops due to high water levels, according to a notice from the futures exchange operator.

The Illinois River shipping stations are delivery points for CBOT soybean futures, but the force majeure order is unlikely to have much impact on the soybean market unless it remains in place for a significant amount of time. That does not appear likely with weather forecasts calling for relatively dry weather across the Midwest over the next week.

CBOT January futures are in their two-week delivery period, but so far no contracts have been delivered against futures and as of Monday afternoon, no contracts had been registered for delivery.

CME Inc. last declared force majeure on Illinois River soybean and corn delivery points in June and July of 2015 due to flooding.