Soyabean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade fell early on Tuesday as worries about a possible decline in feed demand due to the spread of bird flu in Asia sparked technical selling by commodity funds, traders said.
A lagging US export pace and overall good crop weather in South America were also weighing on prices.
January soyabeans were down 5 cents at $5.53-1/4 per bushel by 11:15 am CST (1715 GMT). Key support in January was seen at $5.50. The deferreds were 2 to 6-1/2 cents weaker.
Underpinning futures were firm US cash markets as processors tried to source a fresh supply of soyabeans from tight-fisted farmers. There was also talk of Chinese interest in US soyabeans amid stronger basis values in South America.
The soyabean market rebounded late Monday, supported by the strength in the cash market.
"There's divergence between cash and futures," one CBOT trader said.
While commodity funds were sellers, commercial pricing by ADM Investor Services and Cargill Inc surfaced early in the session.
Overnight export business featured Taiwan buying 23,000 tonnes of US corn and 12,000 tonnes of US soya, said traders in Taipei.
The soya products followed soyabeans lower, traders said. CBOT December soyameal was down $2.30 per ton at $169.40, with the deferreds $1 to $2.30 lower.
December soyaoil was down 0.20 cent per lb at 21.04 cents, with the back months down 0.11 to 0.23.
Rolling of December soyaoil and soyameal positions before first notice day on Wednesday continued.