Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures fell on Monday on concerns that the spread of a coronavirus in China could cut in to demand from the world's top buyer of the oilseed. Soyabean futures have fallen for five straight trading days.

Traders also said a lack of Chinese export deals since the signing of the Phase 1 trade deal between Beijing and Washington contributed to weakness in soyabeans, which hit their lowest level since December 12. The market closed well above its session lows on some bargain buying, traders said. Bargain buying pulled soyameal futures from their lows, and the market ended close to unchanged after the March contract hit a new low during the session. Soyameal contracts had briefly traded higher before the close.

But soyameal still ended in negative territory after briefly pushing higher. Soyaoil futures were weaker, pressured by declines in the crude oil market. CBOT March soyaoil dropped below its 100-day moving average for the first time since Sept. 11, 2019.

Export inspections of soyabeans fell to 1.039 million tonnes in the week ended Jan. 23 from 1.206 million tonnes in the prior week, according to a US Agriculture Department report. Analysts' forecasts for weekly soyabean export inspections ranged from 700,000 tonnes to 1.300 million tonnes.