Soyabean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade fell early Thursday shortly after a firm open on crop jitters after soya rust was found on a soya plant in Georgia - the first report of the year of an infected soyabean plant, traders said. Technical selling surfaced, driving prices 7 to 8 cents lower by noon (1800 GMT). May soyabeans were down 8 cents at $6.19-1/4, while July was 7-1/2 cents weaker at $6.26-1/4. July fell below its 10- and 20-day moving averages, finding support at its 50-day average of $6.25-1/2. There was also some evening of positions before first notice day.
Commodity funds sold about 2,000 lots by the midsession, traders said. Refco sold 800 July and Citigroup sold 600 July.
Georgia is not big soyabean producer but the discovery of soya rust this early in the season heightened worries that the disease could spread into the heart of the Midwest bean country earlier than forecast.
The US Agriculture Department forecast on Wednesday that soya rust could travel to the Midwest by late July or early August. Traders also shrugged off that forecast, with beans closing lower Wednesday.
Traders also brushed off supportive census numbers. The Census Bureau said the US March soya crush was at 149.7 million bushels, above the average of analysts estimates for 148.8 million. But weekly export data was bearish, traders said.
USDA Thursday said 273,900 tonnes of US soya (old and new crop combined) sold for export last week. That was within the range of estimates for 200,000 to 400,000 tonnes.
Export activity early Thursday also featured Russia buying 300,000 tonnes of soyabeans from Brazil.
May soyameal was down $1.10 per ton at $194.90, while the back months were 80 cents to $3 weaker.
Soyaoil futures followed the weaker trend, down 0.20 to 0.31 cent per lb. May was down 0.20 at 22.31 cents.