Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures closed firmed on Thursday on short-covering and spillover support from higher corn, traders said. CBOT May soyabeans settled up 4-1/2 cents at $9.10-1/2 per bushel. CBOT May soyameal ended up $3.70 at $315.30 per short ton and May soyaoil fell 0.17 cent at 29.10 cents per pound.
Gains in soyabeans were limited by lower-than-anticipated export sales and some worries over the pace of US-China trade talks. US President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that the United States may leave tariffs on Chinese goods for a "substantial period" to ensure that Beijing complies with any trade agreement.
The US Department of Agriculture said weekly soyabean export sales were 335,200 tonnes, well below forecasts that ranged from 600,000 to 1.750 million tonnes.
Record flooding in the western Corn Belt farm fields and grain handling infrastructure and washed out roads and rail in Nebraska, Iowa and other neighboring states. The disaster has also destroyed crops in storage around the region.