Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures climbed on Thursday on bargain buying and waning fears of a trade war with China, one day after the top global soya importer proposed tariffs on imports from the United States, traders said. Investors were hopeful Washington and Beijing could negotiate to avoid tariffs on US soya and other agricultural goods.
Soyabeans were higher but stayed within the wide trading range established on Wednesday, when prices plunged as much as 5 percent following the tariff announcement. Soyameal and soyaoil futures both were narrowly higher. Argentine farmers are expected to harvest 38 million tonnes of soya in the 2017-18 season, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday, down from its prior estimate of 39.5 million tonnes. The US Department of Agriculture announced weekly soyabean export sales of 1.491 million tonnes, topping market expectations for 600,000 to 1.150 million tonnes.