Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures closed higher Thursday in a light technical rebound following an eight-session sell-off, traders said. The CBOT May soyabean contract settled up 3-1/2 cents at $10.01-1/2 per bushel, after dipping to $9.92, a four-month low, this week. Rally capped by expectations for a record-large Brazilian harvest and an expansion in US soyabean plantings.
The USDA reported weekly export sales of old-crop US soyabeans at 471,600 tonnes, in line with trade expectations, and new-crop sales of 225,800 tonnes, above expectations. In addition, the USDA through its daily reporting system said private exporters sold 120,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to unknown destinations for 2016/17 delivery.
CBOT soyameal closed higher on strength in soyabeans and better-than-expected weekly soyameal export sales. CBOT soyaoil closed slightly higher but trailed the advances in soyameal and soyabeans on a percentage basis. The USDA's weekly export sales report showed a net reduction in export sales of old-crop soyaoil.