US soyabean futures ended nearly 3 percent lower on Tuesday, in line with a broad commodity sell-off after a recommendation by Goldman Sachs to book profits, traders said. The Goldman Sachs comments, written on Monday, did not directly address profit-taking in soyabeans, and included a recommendation to buy the November 2011 contract.
However, "risk-off" trades also weighed on soyabeans following renewed concerns about the fate of exports to Japan after Japan escalated the severity of its nuclear crisis to a level 7, putting it on par with the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Spot basis offers for US soymeal were mostly steady to weak on Tuesday as demand for the animal feed remained lacklustre even as futures fell. Chart-based signals also looked bearish for soyabeans after the May contract closed well below its 40-day moving average at $13.63 and 50-day around $13.79.