Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures pulled back after topping $10 a bushel on Thursday, ending flat as US traders continued to monitor unfavourable dryness in rival exporter Argentina. CBOT March soyabeans exceeded $10 a bushel for the first time since December 7 before retreating. The contract closed unchanged at $9.92-1/4.
Traders kept their eyes on Argentina, the world's third-largest soyabean producer and largest exporter of soyameal and soyaoil, amid forecasts for persistent dryness there. However, global supplies remain large. Recent gains in futures prompted farmers to sell crops they had been keeping in storage from previous harvests, merchants said. On Friday, the US Department of Agriculture will issue export sales data for the week ended January 18.