CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures stepped back from four-year highs on Friday as continued exports to China and a smaller US production are expected to be reported next Tuesday in a monthly report from the Ag Department, traders said.

CBOT January soyabeans settled 2-1/4 cents lower at $11.01-1/2 per bushel.

For the week, CBOT soyabeans added 45-1/4 cents, the biggest week jump since the week ending Sept. 18.

CBOT December soyameal fell $5.40 to $382.40 per short ton, while December soyaoil dropped 0.13 cent to finish at 35.34 cents per pound.

The USDA reported sales of 272,150 tonnes of soyabeans to unknown destinations and 132,000 tonnes of soyabeans to China on Friday, the first Chinese purchase since Oct. 15.

Recent rains in Argentina gave a boost to the start of soyabean planting for the 2020/21 cycle, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday, with a forecast of 17.2 million hectares of planting area for the season.-Reuters