CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures slipped on Friday as traders waited for more clarity on how long the Ukraine crisis will last, analysts said.

CBOT May soyabeans settled down 1/2-cent at $16.68 per bushel.

CBOT May soyaoil ended 2.34 cents lower at 72.29 cents per pound, while May soyameal jumped $2.90 to settle at $477.00 per short ton.

Soyabean futures consolidated and finished weaker with the neighbouring CBOT corn and wheat markets, traders said.

Malaysian palm oil futures fell more than 5%, posting their deepest weekly plunge since 1986.

In Argentina, farmers could be hit by a third straight La Nina weather phenomenon, the Rosario grains exchange said. The climate pattern generally brings lower rainfall in key farming regions.

Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures finished lower on Friday as traders followed news on talks to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

CBOT benchmark May soft red winter wheat settled down 34-1/4 cents at $10.63-3/4 per bushel.

K.C. May hard red winter wheat ended down 21-3/4 cents at $10.70-1/2 a bushel, and MGEX May spring wheat fell 18-3/4 cents to finish at $10.60-1/4.

Traders worry that spring crop plantings in Ukraine may be more at risk as Russia’s invasion continues.

Grain importers are searching for alternative suppliers as the conflict stalls crop exports from the Black Sea region.

Algeria’s strategic reserves of wheat are sufficient until August, Ennahar news website said, citing Agriculture Minister Mohammed Abdelhafid Henni.

Turkish state grain board TMO provisionally bought 260,000 tonnes of wheat in an internal market tender, trader said.

Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ended weaker on Friday as traders monitored developments in the Ukraine crisis.

CBOT May corn settled down 12-3/4 cents at $7.41-3/4 per bushel. December corn ended up 1/2 cent at $6.45-1/2.

A World Food Programme official said food supply chains in Ukraine are collapsing. Russia and its ally Belarus are major global suppliers of fertilizers such as potash.