CHICAGO: Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended modestly higher on Thursday, rebounding from early weakness after the US Federal Reserve announced a fresh phase of monetary stimulus, traders said.
* The Fed's move is expected to boost investment in riskier assets including commodities, as have previous stimulus initiatives.
* Profit-taking after Wednesday's rally pared gains.
* Heavy trade in soybean futures with estimated volume topping 370,000 contracts, which would represent one of the highest daily totals in 2012.
* Worries about tight soybean supplies lent support a day after the US Department of Agriculture pared its forecast of US 2012 soybean production.
* Weekly export sales fell short of trade expectations but year-to-date export sales of US soybeans for shipment in the 2012/13 marketing year begun Sept. 1 have reached 20.385 million tonnes, 71 percent of the current USDA full-season forecast for 28.71 tonnes in exports.
* USDA data showed net combined-marketing-year soybean export sales for the latest week at 570,000 tonnes, below trade forecasts for 600,000 to 750,000 tonnes. More than 2 million tonnes in sales were carried over from the 2011/12 marketing year, which ended Aug. 31, into 2012/13.
* Light support from forecasts for frost in the Upper Midwest next weekend, although some analysts said the crop's maturity would limit any damage. Light, scattered rains on Thursday and Friday will cause some Midwest harvest slowdowns.
* Crushers in China bought 399,741 tonnes of soybeans from the government's bi-weekly auction at an average price of 4,552 yuan ($720) per tonne, the Chinese government said.
* Top global soy buyer China will face tight supplies of feed meal from the fourth quarter of this year through early 2013 due to US crop losses from drought, a senior industry official said.
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