Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soyabean futures dropped on Thursday amid news China and other buyers had canceled a flurry of US soyabean orders in early January, and that Argentina's soya crop could be larger than previously expected, traders said. CBOT March soyabeans settled the day down 13 cent at $9.03-1/2 per bushel. Earlier in the day, the contract dipped to $9.03 per bushel, the lowest since Jan. 22.
CBOT March soyameal ended down $4.60 at $305.50 per short ton, while March soyaoil fell 0.10 cent to 29.89 cents per pound. The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) export sales report showed net cancellations of US soyabeans totaling 610,900 tonnes (old and new crop years combined) in the week ended Jan. 3, as the agency continues to clear a backlog caused by the US government shutdown.
Analysts were expecting net sales of 600,000 to 1 million tonnes. The cancellations included 807,000 tonnes intended for China, the world's top soya importer, and 444,000 tonnes for "unknown" destinations, which the market believes could also be China, traders said. Traders are questioning whether the cancellations reflect decreased Chinese need for feed because of the African swine fever outbreak in its swine herd.
China imported 7.38 million tonnes of soyabeans in January, down 13 percent compared to a year earlier, but up 29 percent from December, according to Chinese customs data. Private analytics firm IEG Vantage, formerly known as Informa Economics IEG, on Thursday projected US 2019 soyabean plantings at 86.044 million acres, down from its previous forecast of 86.204 million.
The firm forecast 2019 soyabean production at 4.368 billion bushels based on a yield of 51.2 bushels per acre, the note showed. Argentina's soya crop is expected to reach 52 million tonnes during the 2018-19 season, up from 50 million tonnes previously forecast, the Rosario Grains Exchange said late on Wednesday.
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