CBOT soy ends mostly lower on US harvest pressure; USDA awaited

CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures closed mostly lower on Tuesday, pressured by favorable harvest weather in the US Midwest and an apparent slowdown in export demand from China, traders said.

Trade was choppy, with soybean futures turning higher at times as traders squared positions ahead of Wednesday's quarterly stocks report from the US Department of Agriculture.

CBOT November soybeans settled down 3-1/4 cents at $9.93 per bushel after dipping to $9.85-3/4, the contract's lowest since Sept. 16.

CBOT most-active December soymeal ended down $2 at $331.90 per short ton and December soyoil fell 0.42 cent to finish at 32,69 cents per pound.

Ahead of first notice day on Wednesday for deliveries against CBOT October soymeal and soyoil futures, traders expected soymeal deliveries of zero to 300 contracts.

Estimates of first-day deliveries against October soyoil futures ranged widely from 200 to 2,000 contracts.

The USDA confirmed private sales of 100,000 tonnes of US soybeans to Mexico.

However, the USDA has not confirmed any fresh US soybean sales to China since Sept. 23.

The USDA late Monday said the US soybean crop was 20% harvested, ahead of the five-year average of 15%.