CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rose on Thursday on a round of bargain buying after prices fell 3.3 percent during four straight days of losses, traders said.
Prices for the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade May contract found support at the 23.6 percent point on a Fibonacci retracement from its rally to contract highs hit last week.
CBOT soybeans closed just below their intraday highs, a bullish sign.
The US Agriculture Department said on Thursday morning that US export sales of soybeans for the 2013/14 crop year were 800 tonnes in the week ended April 17, the lowest of the marketing year and in line with market expectations for -200,000 to 100,000 tonnes.
New-crop export sales of soybeans were 118,200 tonnes, below trade forecasts for 350,000 to 550,000 tonnes.
On the cash market, basis bids for soybeans shipped by barge to the US Gulf tumbled 5 to 10 cents per bushel, pressured by the poor export sales.
The closely watched July-November futures spread widened by 2 cents on Thursday after losing 35-1/4 cents in the previous week.
Three employees at one of Marubeni Corp's grain trading units in China have been detained by authorities, a move industry sources said was prompted by allegations of tax evasion on soybean imports.
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