CBOT March soyameal ended down $1.10 at $310 per short ton and March soyaoil fell 0.25 cent at 30.17 cents per pound. The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange left its estimate of Argentina's soyabean crop unchanged at 53 million tonnes, despite weeks of heavy rains that had raised concerns about the harvest. Traders continue to monitor US trade talks with China, the world's top soya importer.
President Donald Trump said he wanted a "very big" US trade deal with China, but signaled there could be delays if negotiations fail to meet his goals of opening the Chinese economy broadly to US industry and agriculture.
The US Department of Agriculture reported export sales of US soyabeans in the week to Dec. 20 at 2.405 million tonnes (combined old and new crop years), within a range of trade expectations for 1.8 million to 2.8 million tonnes. The export sales release was the USDA's first since a month-long partial government shutdown suspended the reports.