Soyabean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were called 1 to 2 cents per bushel higher on Thursday, getting a lift from larger-than-expected monthly crush data and higher crude oil prices, traders said.
The soya market, in particular soyabean oil, has been tracking the energy markets over the past two weeks due to the increased demand for biodiesel, which is made from soyabean oil in the United States.
The US Census Bureau reported early Thursday that processors crushed 130.3 million bushels of soyabeans in August, which was above the range of trade estimates for 129.4 to 130.0 million.
The weekly export sales tally was within expectations. USDA put export sales of US soya last week at 675,900 tonnes, within the range of estimates for 600,000 to 800,000 tonnes.
The top buyer was China, booking 363,300 tonnes of US soyabeans last week, confirming recent market talk of ongoing Chinese interest in soyabeans.
The soyabean market was hovering near oversold technical levels. The nine-day relative strength index for November closed Wednesday at 33, above the benchmark 30 that chartists view as an oversold mark.
Nearby support in November was pegged at $5.50 and resistance at $5.75.
The overnight e-cbot trend for soyabeans was 3/4 cent per bushel lower to 1/4 higher.