US soyabean futures closed at their highest prices in more than a week on Friday, buoyed by short-covering and hopes China will make additional purchases of the oilseed in a thawing of the trade war between the world's two biggest economies, traders said. Chicago Board of Trade January soyabeans ended the day up 13-3/4 cents at $8.82-3/4 per bushel. The March contract settled up 13 cents at $8.95-1/2 a bushel.

CBOT January soyameal rose $5.00 to $308.90 per short ton and January soyaoil rose 0.21 cent to 27.52 cents per pound. China opening the door to import US rice for the first time ever ahead of trade talks was seen as a sign of possible improvement in trade relations between the two countries, traders said.

The news was also bullish for soyabeans on Friday: It could create a potential scenario, where if China were to import a significant amount of US rice, that might convince farmers in the US Mississippi River Delta region to switch their soyabean acres to rice, said Ted Seifried at Zaner Group.

That, in turn, could reduce the amount of US soyabean acre plantings this spring, said Seifried. USDA's weekly export sales report, which had been scheduled for release on Friday, has been postponed indefinitely due to the shutdown.

Copyright Reuters, 2019