Soyabean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell Thursday, with the spot May contract posting a five-month low on expectations of a massive South American soya harvest and an expansion in US plantings, traders said. CBOT May soyabeans settled down 8-3/4 cents at $9.91 per bushel after dipping to $9.90-1/4, the contract's lowest since October 17.

The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange raised its estimate of Argentina's 2016/17 soya crop to 56.5 million tonnes, from 54.8 million previously, citing better-than-expected yields. Better-than-expected weekly US export sales did little to stem the sell-off. The US Department of Agriculture reported weekly export sales of old-crop soyabeans at 738,200 tonnes, above a range of trade expectations, and sales of new-crop soyabeans at 79,900 tonnes.

CBOT May soyaoil drifted lower on profit taking after hitting two-week highs on expectations that the United States would take steps to block some biodiesel imports. The National Biodiesel Board petitioned the US government to impose antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia that it says have flooded the US market and violated trade agreements. CBOT May soyameal fell roughly 1 percent and hit a two-month low on disappointing soyameal export sales and spillover weakness from soyabeans.

Copyright Reuters, 2017