CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures dipped lower late in the session on Thursday, as the partial federal government shutdown stretched on and traders wrestled with a lack of fresh news about supplies and demand.
* CBOT January soybeans ended the day down 1 cent at $8.69 per bushel, following a choppy trading session. The front-month contract hit its lowest since Nov. 27 for the second day in a row.
* The March contract fell 1/2-cent, to settle at $8.82-1/2 a bushel.
* CBOT January soymeal rose 50 cents to $303.90 per short ton and January soyoil fell 0.05 cent to 27.31 cents per pound.
* Earlier in the session, technical buying had soybean futures seeing a very small bounce, amid hopes China could buy more American soy supplies after a round of purchases earlier this month.
* But the ongoing uncertainty over when China could return to the US market - and the dearth of export sales news from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) this week - continued to put pressure on soybean futures.
* Daily export sales reporting by USDA has halted during the partial shut down of the federal government.
* USDA's weekly export sales report, which had been scheduled for release on Friday, also has been postponed indefinitely due to the shutdown.
* Some traders said they were keeping a close eye on concerns about possible dryness in central Brazil, as well as forecasts of heavy rains in eastern Argentina that could result in corn and soybean replanting delays.
* China and the United States have made plans for face-to-face consultations over trade in January, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday, as the world's two biggest economies advanced efforts to resolve a months-long trade war.
* "We continue to see fund positioning, which is dominating today's trade, and will again tomorrow and Monday," said Karl Setzer, operations manager for Citizens LLC, a grain elevator company.
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