Beans are showing real strength on Thursday, with soybeans up 7-8 cents and bean oil continuing its rally. Crude oil pushing toward $80 is definitely helping, up nearly $5 at midday and spilling over into the ag complex. Saw another batch of deliveries hit overnight - 244 against the bean contracts and 76 against March meal futures.

Cash beans are trading $11.03 1/4, up 7 1/2 cents, while the front-month soy oil futures are 184-215 points higher. Meal futures are basically flat to down 30 cents. March soybeans are at $11.62 1/4, up 7 3/4 cents, with May and July both up 7 cents.

USDA export sales report this morning showed 383,492 MT of soybeans sold for the week ending 2/26 - on the lower side of expectations but still up 31% year-over-year. Soybean meal came in at 255,760 MT and bean oil at 7,662 MT. These numbers are symbols of strength in global demand, even if weekly pace is lighter.

Canada's planting data released this morning showed canola intentions at 21.84 million acres, below the 22.3 million estimate but up 1% annually. Soybeans there are pegged at 5.89 million acres. Brazil's crop estimate sitting at 183.1 MMT keeps the supply picture balanced. Overall, beans are holding their own.