Agriculture
Soybeans trading: the bean, the meal and the oil
Soybeans are crushed into meal and oil. Those are separate markets from the bean. Harvests in the Americas and import demand, especially for meal, sit behind the futures curve. Weather still decides the crop.
Market overview
The crush margin is the gap between the bean and the products. A trader can be long the products and short the bean, or the reverse. That is a processing trade, not a view on the harvest alone.
A crop failure in one hemisphere can be offset, partly and later, by the other hemisphere’s harvest. The futures month says which crop you mean.
What tends to move it
Crush demand
Meal for feed and oil for food and fuel.
Weather
Both American crops.
Trade flows
Import demand and export logistics.
The complex
Bean, meal and oil can diverge.
Ways to take the exposure
These are different legal positions. A platform may offer one and not the others. Nothing here is available in every country.
Soybean futures
The bean. Not the meal and not the oil.
Meal and oil futures
Separate contracts. The crush uses all three.
Processor shares
A crushing business, with its own margins.
Contract specifications
CME Group
Contract unit, tick and margin are on the exchange page. They are not reprinted here.
Read the exchange pageIllustrative contract value
What the costs usually are
Three contracts mean three commissions if you trade the crush. Exchange fees apply to each leg. A single bean CFD is not that position.
What a headline commission leaves out of the bill separates the commission from the spread, financing and other charges.
Risks that belong to this market
Leg risk
One side of a crush can fill and another can not.
Weather
A season in one region is not a global crop failure.
Policy
Export rules and tariffs reroute beans.
Providers in the commodities directory
The rows come from the existing commodities research note. No second provider list was created. No commercial relationship is recorded on these rows, so the button goes to the firm’s own site. This is not a ranking.
AvaTrade
Group listing only
Metals, energy and agricultural commodity CFDs depending entity
Pricing line. Spread-based; product/entity-specific fees
Platforms. WebTrader; AvaTrade app; MT4; MT5; AvaOptions
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Capital.com
Group listing only
65+ commodity CFDs provider-stated across metals, energy and soft/agricultural markets
Pricing line. Spread-based, no commission on cited CFD proposition; other costs apply
Platforms. Capital.com web/mobile; TradingView; MT4/MT5 on current international page
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
CMC Markets
Group listing only
Commodity CFDs across metals, energy and soft commodities; investing offering differs by region
Pricing line. Spread-based CFD pricing; investing fees region-specific
Platforms. Next Generation; MT4/MT5 in selected regions; mobile/web
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
FOREX.com
Group listing only
A published range includes crude oil, natural gas, corn and metals.
Pricing line. Spread-based commodity CFDs; financing can apply
Platforms. FOREX.com proprietary; TradingView; MT5/MT4 depending region
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
FP Markets
Group listing only
Oil, gas, corn, sugar and precious metals among broader commodity CFDs
Pricing line. Spread/commission account structures
Platforms. MT4; MT5; cTrader; TradingView; IRESS in selected regions
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Interactive Brokers
Group listing only
Energy, metals, agriculture and related commodity products via futures, ETFs/ETPs and metals
Pricing line. Product/exchange commissions + market-data fees; fund/ETF pricing varies
Platforms. Trader Workstation; IBKR Desktop; Client Portal; GlobalTrader; mobile
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
OANDA
Group listing only
Hard and soft commodity CFDs including oil, copper, natural gas, corn plus precious metals
Pricing line. Spread-based commodity/metal CFDs
Platforms. OANDA web/mobile; MT4; MT5; TradingView
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Pepperstone
Group listing only
40 spot commodity markets across metals, energies and softs on cited UK page
Pricing line. Spread-based; Razor pricing applies to some products
Platforms. Pepperstone platform; MT4; MT5; cTrader; TradingView
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Saxo
Group listing only
Commodity CFDs, futures, options, spot metals and ETCs across energy, metals and agriculture
Pricing line. Tiered commissions/spreads by product and account tier
Platforms. SaxoInvestor; SaxoTrader; web/mobile
Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.
Compare selected providers
Select two or three providers. The limit is three.
Calculators
Each tool starts from numbers you type. This page does not send a contract size or a live price into them.
Position size
You type the contract multiplier. This page does not insert one.
OpenFutures margin
Tick value and margin come from the specification you enter.
OpenRisk and reward
A planned payoff. It does not grade the trade.
OpenProfit and loss
A result from prices you type.
OpenStop and target
Distances you choose, not a market order.
OpenTrading journal
A record of trades you enter.
OpenTrading performance
Figures from the journal, not from a feed.
OpenWhat a commission leaves out
How spread, fees and financing sit beside a headline commission.
OpenThe crush is the industry
Buying soybeans because of a headline about cooking oil confuses the oil contract with the bean. The crush is how the industry turns one into the other, and the margin can move when the flat price does not.
Specifications for each leg stay on the exchange page.
Questions
Are soybeans one market?
The bean, the meal and the oil are listed separately.
Does a bean future include the oil?
No. You hold the bean contract only.
Sources and review
Written by: WiT Markets Editorial. Writes and structures WiT Markets pages. Separates a sourced fact from a cell that is Not confirmed.
Review: Editorially reviewed. This is not a qualified specialist review and it is not a legal sign-off.
Last reviewed: . Next review due . The date is an editorial pass. It is not a live check of every third-party fee.
Other sources
- CME Group — checked 13 October 2026
- WiT Markets methodology — checked 13 October 2026
Methodology. Editorial policy. Corrections. Report an error.