Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures sank 1.6 percent on Friday, weighed down by the ongoing harvest of a massive crop in South America and growing expectations for big US plantings. Friday's decline was the biggest daily drop for the most-active soyabean contract since a 1.6 percent fall on Feb. 16. Soyaoil and soyameal futures also fell, with soyaoil notching the biggest declines and dropping 3.3 percent on a technical setback after the May contract hit resistance at its 30-day moving average. Soyameal sagged to a 3-1/2-month low.
Research and brokerage firm Allendale Inc forecast US soyabean plantings at a record 88.825 million acres. For the week, soyabean futures dropped 2.5 percent, soyameal futures shed 3.4 percent and soyaoil futures dropped 0.3 percent. Soyabean futures have fallen for three weeks in a row and five of the last six.