China bought 129,000 tonnes of US soyabeans for delivery during the current marketing year, the US Agriculture Department said on Thursday.

The sale - about two cargoes worth - was the first deal for farm products to China the US government has announced in a week.

Chinese commercial crushers have bought up to seven cargoes of American soyabeans this week for December and January shipment thanks to competitive US prices versus South American prices and good crush margins in China, according to two traders familiar with the matter. The deals were made even as up to 2 million tonnes of American cargoes were waiting to offload at ports in China as its stockpiler looked for storage room.

USDA has announced deals for 376,000 tonnes of soyabeans headed for unknown destinations since Nov. 8.

China and the United States are holding "in-depth" discussions on a first phase trade agreement, and cancelling tariffs is an important condition to reaching a deal, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump has said that he wants China to increase its purchases of farm products.

Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures opened lower despite the sale, with the most-active January contract sagging 1-1/2 cents to $9.13-3/4 a bushel in early trading.