Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures ended about unchanged on Monday as investors weighed an advancing US harvest and an uncertain export outlook against worries about the size of the US crop, traders said. CBOT November soyabeans settled 3/4 cent lower at $9.33-1/4 per bushel.

CBOT December soyameal ended 80 cents lower at $307.70 per shot ton while December soyaoil rose 0.12 cent to settle at 30.48 cents per pound. Soyabean futures have drawn some support from uncertainty about the size of the US crop, particularly in light of recent snowfall in Minnesota and North Dakota.

Rainy weather stalled harvesting in parts of the Midwest on Monday, but forecasts call for below-normal precipitation for much of the region over the next two weeks. The US Department of Agriculture is due to release its weekly crop progress report later on Monday. Analysts polled by Reuters expect, on average, the soyabean harvest to be 42% complete as of Sunday.

Brazil's 2019/20 soyabean crop is 21% planted as of last Thursday, below last year's 34% level as scarce rains delayed sowing work, according to agribusiness consultancy AgRural. President Donald Trump continued to speak optimistically about the possibility of a deal to end the US trade war with China.

Although Trump said China is currently buying US agricultural products, US exporters said no new soyabean sales to China have occurred. China is instead actively buying South American soya.