Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade rose on Thursday on a short-covering bounce in thin trade before the Christmas holiday weekend, traders said. A bigger-than-expected weekly export sales number for soyabeans reported by USDA before the open was supportive along with the strength in the neighbouring soyameal pit.
CBOT soyabean futures were 4 to 5-1/4 cents per bushel higher by 10:45 am CST (1645 GMT). January was up 5-1/4 at $5.51-1/2.
January options expire on Thursday, with traders eyeing the $5.50 strike price for possible volatility.
March soyabeans were 4-1/2 cents higher at $5.49-1/2, with key resistance pegged at $5.59.
Firms continued to roll their January positions before first notice day on Dec. 30. In outright trade, Man Financial and Rand Financial each bought 200 March; ADM Investor Services bought 500 March.
But volume was light before the Christmas holiday weekend. The CBOT agricultural markets close early at noon CST (1800 GMT) and reopen with the Sunday night e-cbot session.
The government said on Thursday that last week's export sales for soyabeans reached 1,157,400 tonnes, above trade estimates for 750,000 to 950,000 tonnes.
Soyameal futures were $1.70 to $2.30 per ton higher, with January up $1.80 at $160.80. A round of fund short-covering before the weekend along with commercial buying helped prices move higher. A strong weekly export sales tally was supportive. USDA said 113,800 tonnes of US soyameal were sold for export last week, which was on the high end of estimates for 50,000 to 125,000 tonnes.
The CBOT soyaoil market was 0.10 to 0.15 cent per lb higher on spillover strength from soyabeans and lingering concerns about reduced soyaoil yields from the 2004 US crop reported by the US Census Bureau on Wednesday. USDA said 18,400 tonnes of US soyaoil were sold for export last week. That was above estimates for 5,000 to 15,000 tonnes.
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