Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures rose on Thursday on export demand and light bargain buying following a three-day slide, along with renewed optimism about demand for soya-based biodiesel fuel, traders said. CBOT November soyabeans settled up 2-1/4 cents at $9.86-1/2 a bushel while December soyameal fell 40 cents at $321.40 per short ton.
CBOT December soyaoil ended up 0.42 cent at 33.83 cents per pound, supported by news reports that President Donald Trump told the governor of Iowa on Wednesday that he was committed to renewable fuels. Also, a group of 22 members of the US House of Representatives asked the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter on Thursday not to lower some requirements for mixing biofuels into the country's fuel supply.
The US Department of Agriculture reported export sales of US soyabeans in the latest week at 1,275,100 tonnes, below trade expectations for 1,300,000 to 1,700,000 tonnes. However, through its daily reporting system, the USDA also said private exporters sold 384,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to China for delivery in the 2017/18 marketing year that began September 1.
The USDA reported weekly soyameal export sales at 296,100 tonnes and soyaoil sales at 27,400 tonnes, both above trade expectations. Private analytics firm Informa Economics raised its US 2018 soyabean plantings forecast to 90.347 million acres, from 89.057 million previously, according to a client note obtained.