PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures rose 1 percent on Monday as investors pinned hopes on upcoming talks between Washington and Beijing to defuse trade tensions and help revive US soy shipments to the world’s biggest importer of the oilseed.
Wheat fell after climbing more than 3 percent from Friday when traders reported Russia may consider capping exports from the world’s biggest wheat supplier to protect domestic livestock markets.
Corn was almost unchanged, with traders awaiting a weekly US crop progress report for further indications about the harvest.
After last week’s announcement of a fresh round of US-China trade negotiations in late August, a Wall Street Journal report late on Friday saying the world’s two largest economies were working on a plan to resolve their tariff dispute by November further boosted expectations of a detente.
China last year bought shipments from the United States worth some $12 billion, making the oilseed America’s top farm export to China. The trade spat prompted Beijing to impose extra tariffs on imports of US soybeans and shift purchases to Brazil.
“They have to resolve the dispute, China needs US beans in the fourth quarter,” said one Singapore-based soybean trader at an international trading company.
The most-active Chicago Board Of Trade soybean contract was up 1.1 percent at $9.02-3/4 a bushel by 1138 GMT, hovering near the session high of $9.07 a bushel, a level last reached on Aug. 9.
CBOT wheat slipped 1.0 percent to $5.73-3/4 a bushel and corn inched down 0.1 percent to $3.78-1/2 a bushel.
Wheat had surged on Friday on news the Russian government had met with grain exporters, with some traders reporting the authorities would consider restricting 2018/19 following a request from meat-producing regions.
Russia’s agriculture ministry denied it discussed export curbs at the meeting, but the news reinforced market doubts about the ministry’s forecast for 35 million tonnes in wheat exports.
“A meeting of the ministry with major exporters has been enough to fuel the speculation about the export situation in Russia,” consultancy Agritel said, adding that with a smaller harvest expected and brisk early-season Russian exports, “everything is in place to suggest a tight second part of the season.”
The corn market was awaiting more clues about the upcoming harvest. Weekly US Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop progress data later on Monday will show if high ratings this season for Midwest corn and soybeans have continued to ease.
Traders are also looking ahead to pre-harvest field tours to gauge the USDA’s forecasts for record corn and soybean yields.
Source: Brecorder
