Global grain and oilseed markets

Soybean futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed higher on Wednesday as news of new U.S. soybean export sales helped the market recover from multi-week lows, traders said. January soybean futures on the CBOT closed up 4 cents at $10.91-1/4 per bushel, recovering from a drop to $10.81-1/2, the lowest level since October 30. On the CBOT, January soybean meal futures fell 10 cents to $301.20 per short ton, while January soybean oil futures rose 0.07 cents, closing at 51.09 cents per pound. Soybean prices on the CBOT rose after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private sales of 136,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China, another 331,000 tons to unspecified countries, and 120,000 tons of soybean meal to Poland. The culmination of the rallies was the expectation of large soybean crops in South America after several weeks of mostly favorable weather, including rains this week in most of Brazil. Traders also remain uncertain about how quickly China will purchase 12 ...