Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures closed higher Thursday as higher-than-expected weekly US export sales data and wetter forecasts for the Midwest sparked a round of short-covering, traders said. CBOT November soyabeans settled up 20-1/4 cents at $8.50-1/4 per bushel after reaching $8.55, its highest since Aug. 24.
CBOT December soyameal ended up $5.20 at $314.40 per short ton and December soyaoil rose 0.36 cent at 27.86 cents per pound. The US Department of Agriculture reported export sales of US soyabeans in the latest week at 997,500 tonnes, above a range of trade expectations for 400,000 to 900,000 tonnes.
Some traders said soyabeans drew support from a report that China plans to reduce the average tariff rate on imports from most of its trading partners as soon as October. The Bloomberg report did not specify the countries that could enjoy lower Chinese tariffs.
The American Soyabean Association will continue to lobby Washington to negotiate a solution to end the escalating trade war between China and the United States, association president John Heisdorffer said at an industry conference.