Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures declined on Thursday, pressured by beneficial rains in Argentina's crop belt and a retreat in soyaoil futures, traders said. CBOT January soyabeans settled down 6-3/4 cents at $9.85-3/4 a bushel. CBOT January soyaoil ended down 0.22 cent at 33.85 cents per pound, turning lower after climbing to a near two-week high of 34.68 cents.
CBOT January soyameal fell 80 cents to $326.50 per short ton. CBOT soyaoil sagged after the US Environmental Protection Agency's 2019 blending requirement for soya-based biodiesel fuel remained unchanged from 2018 at 2.1 billion gallons, disappointing those hoping for an increase. The USDA reported export sales of US soyabeans in the latest week at 942,900 tonnes, in line with trade expectations for 800,000 to 1,200,000 tonnes.
Through its daily reporting system, the USDA said private exporters sold 525,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to China and another 132,000 tonnes to unknown destinations, all for delivery in the 2017/18 marketing year begun September 1. Ahead of the USDA's monthly soyabean crush report due on Friday, analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the government to report the October US soya crush at 174.7 million bushels.