Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soyabean futures dipped lower late in the session on Thursday, as the partial federal government shutdown stretched on and traders wrestled with a lack of fresh news about supplies and demand. CBOT January soyabeans ended the day down 1 cent at $8.69 per bushel, following a choppy trading session. The front-month contract hit its lowest since November 27 for the second day in a row.
The March contract fell 1/2-cent, to settle at $8.82-1/2 a bushel. CBOT January soyameal rose 50 cents to $303.90 per short ton and January soyaoil fell 0.05 cent to 27.31 cents per pound. Earlier in the session, technical buying had soyabean futures seeing a very small bounce, amid hopes China could buy more American soya supplies after a round of purchases earlier this month.
But the ongoing uncertainty over when China could return to the US market - and the dearth of export sales news from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) this week - continued to put pressure on soyabean futures. Daily export sale reporting by USDA has halted during the partial shut down of the federal government.
USDA's weekly export sales report, which had been scheduled for release on Friday, also has been postponed indefinitely due to the shutdown. Some traders said they were keeping a close eye on concerns about possible dryness in central Brazil, as well as forecasts of heavy rains in eastern Argentina that could result in corn and soyabean replanting delays.
China and the United States have made plans for face-to-face consultations over trade in January, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday, as the world's two biggest economies advanced efforts to resolve a months-long trade war. "We continue to see fund positioning, which is dominating today's trade, and will again tomorrow and Monday," said Karl Setzer, operations manager for Citizens LLC, a grain elevator company.
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