Argentine soy prices slip behind Chicago futures

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina's closing soy prices and trends on Monday:

* Soy prices in Rosario closed lower at between 1,480 and 1,500 pesos per tonne ($338-$342), pressured by losses at the Chicago Board of Trade, traders said. The previous session's listed closing price was 1,497 pesos per tonne.

* Trade volume swelled to 10,000 tonnes. A meager 4,000 tonnes changed hands in the previous session.

* Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade ended lower on long liquidation and profit-taking after the market set a seven-month high and ahead of a monthly US government crop report, traders said.

* Soybeans for May delivery in Rosario, priced in US dollars, did not trade.

* In the southern grains port of Bahia Blanca, soy ended stable at 1,500 pesos per tonne.

* Argentine dockworkers said they would go on strike on Monday unless agribusiness firms accept demands for better working conditions, threatening grains shipments from one of the world's biggest exporters.

* The Agriculture Ministry said it had approved a new genetically-modified corn strain marketed by Syngenta. It said the new strain, called Agrisure Viptera 4, should allow improved yields by helping control pests.