Soybean closes lower despite strong Chinese imports

Soybean futures fell on Thursday, despite the US Senate vote on the historic fiscal stimulus aid package, and a rise in Chinese imports from the US, according with the interim trade agreement that was signed between the two.

The Chinese imports of US soybeans jumped during the first two months of 2020, six folds compared to the same period in 2019.

The data showed that China has imported 6.101 million tonnes of US soybean in January and February vs. 1.044 million tonnes during the same period in 2019.

While China's imports of Brazilian soybeans fell in the same two months by 26% to 5.14 million tonnes vs. 6.916 million in the same period in 2019.

The total Chinese imports of soybean during the first two months of 2020 rose by 14.2% to 13.51 million tonnes.

Soybean May futures fell 0.2% to close at $8.80 a bushel, after hitting a day high of $8.84 and a low of $8.71.