Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures eased on Wednesday as the markets paused after rallying this week on demand hopes fuelled by a U.S.-China trade agreement. The long-awaited agreement included a Chinese commitment to expand purchases of U.S. farm products. However, traders are cautious about projections from Washington that deals will reach […] Read more
U.S. grains: Prices slip after rallying on trade deal
U.S. grains: China trade news provides lift
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures touched a three-week high on Friday after Washington and Beijing announced a “phase one” trade deal, but the market pared gains amid uncertainty about the details of the pact, including the size of any potential Chinese agricultural purchases. As part of the agreement, Beijing committed to buy an […] Read more
Chinese officials, Trump agree to tariff rollbacks
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing/Washington | Reuters — The United States and China cooled their trade war on Friday, announcing a “phase one” agreement that reduces some U.S. tariffs in exchange for increased Chinese purchases of U.S. farm goods. Chinese officials offered no specific details on the amount of U.S. agricultural goods Beijing had agreed to buy, a key […] Read more
Trump’s hailing of Chinese farm purchases seen as ‘meaningless’
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China is still a long way from forking out US$50 billion for farm goods from the United States, agriculture industry analysts said on Monday, cautioning that getting there is contingent on removing substantial technical and political hurdles. Outlining the first phase of a deal to end a trade war with China, […] Read more
Deere to lay off 163 U.S. workers as trade war dents demand
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Deere and Co. on Tuesday announced indefinite layoffs for 163 U.S. manufacturing workers at plants in Illinois and Iowa that make agricultural, forestry and construction equipment, citing decreased customer demand. The layoffs come week after the company said it would reduce production by 20 per cent at its facilities in Illinois […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy futures end near unchanged
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures finished near unchanged on Thursday after initially rising on hopes for further Chinese purchases, traders said. China, the world’s largest soybean importer, will buy about six million tonnes of soy from the United States before trade talks in early October, said a chief analyst at Shanghai JC Intelligence […] Read more
China to exempt U.S. pork, soybeans from additional tariffs
Reading Time: 2 minutes Shanghai | Reuters — China will exempt some agricultural products from additional tariffs on U.S. goods, including pork and soybeans, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Friday, in the latest sign of easing Sino-U.S. tensions before a new round of talks aimed at curbing a bruising trade war. The United States and China have both […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn futures rally on weather concerns
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Volatility roiled the commodity grain futures markets on Monday, as uncertainty in the U.S. weather forecast supported corn and the growing tensions in the U.S.-China trade war weighed on soybeans. Wheat futures ended the day up on technical buying, traders said. China’s commerce ministry said that Chinese companies have stopped buying […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy climbs on fresh sales to China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The most-active U.S. soybean futures contract reached its highest level since June on Friday on news of fresh U.S. soy sales to China, but the market pared gains as traders considered plentiful global supplies. Wheat futures rose as firming U.S. cash markets signaled a pick-up in export demand, and corn followed […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans firm on hopes for more sales to China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — U.S. soybean futures firmed on Monday after two sessions of declines as traders anticipated more purchases by China after the world’s top soy importer last week booked its first U.S. shipments in six months. Wheat futures climbed, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and rising wheat prices in top exporter Russia. Corn prices […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
