US soyabean futures ended nearly 2 percent lower on Monday, under pressure from China export concerns and expectations for a bumper crop of soyabeans in South America, traders said. Earlier on Monday, an official with China's state-owned trading house COFCO Co Ltd said China is likely to cancel or defer some cargoes because of poor crushing margins.
In addition, the Chinese company revised down China's soya imports in 2010/11 to between 53 million and 54 million tonnes, down from an earlier estimate of 54.5 million tonnes, After the CBOT pit session closes, the US Department of Agriculture releases its weekly crop progress report, the first of the year. The USDA is expected to show that farmers had planted 4.5 percent of their anticipated corn acreage as of April 10, based on an average of estimates given by nine analysts.
Basis bids for soyabeans and corn shipped by barge to the US Gulf Coast were near steady early Monday amid slow grain movement and light-to-moderate demand, cash traders said. Lower crude oil futures put additional pressure on soya, particularly on the soyabean oil contract, traders said.