Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures unofficially closed higher on Thursday, bolstered by stocks and plantings data released earlier in the day by the US Department of Agriculture. For the first quarter, CBOT spot soyabeans finished up 0.9 percent. Both US soyabean stocks and acreage projections were less than analysts' expectations. USDA's export sales report on Thursday showed US soyabean export sales last week at 257,800 tonnes, below estimates for 600,000 to 800,000 tonnes.
Drier weather in Argentina is boosting harvest progress while an active weather pattern in central and southern Brazil may mean further delays to harvest there. Soyameal basis offers held steady at US rail and truck markets on Thursday as surging futures chilled the already lacklustre demand for the animal feed.