US soya bean futures ended nearly flat on the week but more than 2 percent higher on Friday, rallying on the unwinding of long corn/short soya bean spreads as well as near-term bullish technical signals, traders said. May soya beans edged past minor resistance in the May contracts around $13.93, with the next upside target seen between $14.09 and $14.10.
Outside markets - particularly sharply higher crude oil futures and a lower US dollar - gave soya additional support, traders said. Earlier Friday, the USDA reported its estimate of US soya bean ending stocks was unchanged at 140 million bushels, just above an average trade estimate of 137 million bushels.