US soybean futures ended higher on Monday, gaining ground along with corn and wheat rallies in relatively thin trading, traders said. Gains in US corn and wheat futures offset selling pressure led by sharply lower crude oil futures and weak equities markets. CBOT May soyabean rose 12-1/2 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $13.44-1/4 a bushel, with gains lessened by ideas that some unplanted corn acres could be shifted to soybean production.
Early price action was dominated by lower stocks and Standard & Poor's revision of the United States' credit outlook to negative from stable. S&P retained the US credit rating at AAA, but cited the lack of progress on a US budget accord as a negative factor. Also weighing on soybeans was news that China raised banks' reserve requirements on Sunday for the fourth time this year, extending the fight against inflation. Looking at soyameal, cash traders said offers increased for truck pickup at processors in the western US Midwest on Monday, rising by $5 per ton in Kansas City and by $2 in western Iowa.