Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures jumped to their highest level since July on Tuesday as concerns eased that trade disputes will disrupt U.S. agricultural exports, analysts said.
Wheat futures reached their highest level since November, while corn prices hovered near an October 2023 high reached last week.
Traders have recently been focused on the risk that anticipated tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China could hurt demand for U.S. farm goods as all three nations are major importers.
But U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday postponed tariffs against Mexico and Canada for a month, while China, the world’s biggest soybean importer, imposed limited retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods on Tuesday that did not include the oilseed.
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Reports that Trump planned to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping also suggested to traders that there was scope for China to also receive a temporary reprieve.
“The general feeling is that China is not going to fight too hard on a trade war, or it’s going to get resolved very quickly,” said Ted Seifried, chief market strategist at Zaner Ag Hedge.
Relief over the suspension of planned U.S. tariffs against Mexico, the biggest importer of U.S. corn, spurred a rebound in CBOT grains on Monday.
Technical buying supported Tuesday’s gains, traders said.
March corn futures were up 5-3/4 cents at $4.94-1/2 a bushel, while wheat rose 10-1/4 cents to $5.77 a bushel.
March soybean futures climbed 16-3/4 cents to $10.75 a bushel.
The soy market was capped by a slide in by-product soyoil, as the delay of U.S. tariffs against Canada allowed for continued competition from imports of Canadian canola.
But weather risks for South American crops, with drought in Argentina and excess rain in Brazil, continued to underpin corn and soy prices, traders said.
Weakness in the dollar also helped boost prices, as it makes U.S. farm products look more attractive to global buyers, they said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed private sales of 132,000 metric tons of U.S. corn to South Korea.
