Front-month Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures fell to their lowest in 9-1/2 years on Tuesday as escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, the world's biggest soya buyer, prompted fund-driven selling, traders said. Bargain buying helped lift soya futures off their lows. CBOT July soyabeans settled down 19-1/2 cents at $8.89 per bushel after plunging to $8.41-1/2, the lowest spot price on a continuous chart since December 2008.

New-crop November soyabeans ended down 20-1/2 cents at $9.11. Contract lows were set across the board in soyabean and soyaoil futures. CBOT July soyameal ended down $1 at $334.50 per short ton and July soyaoil fell 0.72 cent at 28.85 cents per pound.

Soyabeans tumbled after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods and Beijing warned it would retaliate, in a rapid escalation of the trade conflict between the world's two biggest economies. Favourable Midwest weather added pressure, bolstering early prospects for a big US crop.

Copyright Reuters, 2018