Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures closed higher Friday on bargain-buying after the front contract fell to its lowest since mid-January, traders said. CBOT March soyabeans settled up 2 cents at $10.13-1/2 per bushel after dipping to $10.09-1/4, the contract's lowest since January 12. For the week, the contract fell 19 cents per bushel or 1.8 percent, its second consecutive weekly decline.
Market remained under pressure from rising estimates of Brazil's soyabean harvest and expectations of an expansion in US soyabean plantings this spring. The USDA at its outlook forum projected US soyabean production for marketing year 2017/18 at 4.180 billion bushels, down 3 percent from the previous year despite an expansion in plantings, and ending stocks flat at 420 million bushels.
The USDA reported weekly export sales of old-crop US soyabeans at 413,600 tonnes and sales of new-crop soyabeans at 28,700 tonnes. Both figures were below a range of trade expectations. CBOT March soyameal settled modestly higher, following soyabeans. CBOT March soyaoil also edged higher, supported by a firm close in allied Malaysian palm oil futures.