CHICAGO: Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Thursday on concerns about the size of South America's soy harvest and positioning ahead of a three-day US holiday weekend, traders said.
* US grain markets will be closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday.
* Strong weekly US export sales added support. USDA reported export sales of US soybeans in the latest week at 1,112,900 tonnes (old and new crop years combined), above a range of trade estimates for 600,000 to 850,000 tonnes.
* Front-month soybeans reached $14.34-1/4, matching Tuesday's seven-month high on the continuous chart. Soybeans unofficially ended the week up 2.08 percent, the second straight weekly rise.
* Nearby soybean contracts gained against back months as traders appeared to unwind long November/short May and long November/short July spreads.
* The USDA's attache in Brazil projected the country's 2011/12 soybean harvest at 66 million tonnes, down from USDA's last forecast of 68.5 million. Attache reports are not official data but can signal what USDA might do in its next official monthly report, due out next week.
* Analysts surveyed by Reuters expect USDA in its April 10 supply/demand reports to lower its forecast of US 2011/12 soybean ending stocks, as well as its estimates of the 2011/12 soy harvests in Brazil and Argentina.
* Tugboats in Argentina's main grains export route dislodged a boat carrying soymeal that ran aground three days ago, delaying at least 85 ships, a shipping industry group said.
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