Chicago | Reuters—Chicago soybean futures bounced on Tuesday while corn and wheat eased as broader financial markets recovered from a day-earlier slide and the dollar held near a multi-year low.
CBOT July soybeans SN25 settled up 4-1/2 cents at $10.46 a bushel.
July corn CN25 fell 6-3/4 cents to finish at $4.83-1/4 a bushel and July wheat WN25 ended down 2 cents at $5.50-1/4 per bushel.
Prices of all three crops fell on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed criticism of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell created investor anxiety about the autonomy of the Federal Reserve.
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But a technical recovery pushed futures prices back up for soybeans on Tuesday, said Jim McCormick, co-founder of AgMarket.net.
McCormick said soybean futures also got a boost from reports that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told people at a private event that the trade war between China and the U.S. could not go on forever.
Corn was pressured from forecasts showing rains in the U.S. may be limited enough to improve seeding progress in the coming weeks, according to analysts.
Wheat ended slightly lower, but losses were capped by support from the U.S. dollar trading near multi-year lows after Trump’s social media remarks calling Powell a “major loser” and warning of an economic downturn if interest rates are not lowered immediately.
Worries about the independence of the central bank threaten the dollar’s value as a reserve currency, with analysts noting possible divestments from what many consider over-exposure to U.S. assets.
But a weaker dollar tends to make U.S. exports cheaper and therefore more competitive on the global market.
After Monday’s close, the U.S. Department of Agriculture rated 45 per cent of the winter wheat crops to be in good or excellent condition, down from 47 per cent a week earlier and below average market expectations.
—Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore
