CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures hit a two-week high on Thursday on strong export demand, shrugging off market concerns about this week's US Department of Agriculture forecast of a massive harvest.

The Agriculture Department on Thursday said Chinese buyers booked deals to buy 197,000 tonnes of US soyabeans, the 7th consecutive weekday the government has reported a sale to the world's top buyer of the oilseed.

The most-active soyabean futures contract rose 16.5 cents, settling at $8.99-1/2 a bushel. Earlier in the day, the contract rose to $9.02-1/2 a bushel, the highest since July 27.

Soyameal futures rose $7.70 to $303.40 per short ton, while soyaoil slipped $0.40 to $31.18 per pound.