Soybeans slip on muted China demand; corn falls on record harvest outlook

BEIJING: Chicago soybeans eased on Monday, snapping a two-session rally, as an absence of demand from China continued to pressure the market.

The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.29% to $10.43-2/8 per bushel, as of 0325 GMT.

On Friday, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) pegged US soybean yield at a slightly higher-than-expected 53.5 bushels per acre, compared with 53.6 bushels in August.

US farmers are missing out on billions of dollars in soybean sales to China halfway through their prime marketing season, as trade talks between the two countries drag on.

China, the world’s top soy buyer, has yet to buy any soybeans from the autumn US harvest.

US and Chinese officials concluded a first day of talks in Madrid on Sunday, their fourth meeting in four months in European cities aimed at stabilising strained trade relations under President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Talks are due to resume between 8 and 10 a.m. local time (0600 to 0800 GMT) on Monday, with tentative post-talks press conferences scheduled by the parties in the afternoon. Analysts said substantial breakthroughs were unlikely.

The Madrid negotiations, along with the USDA’s outlook, also pressured the Chinese market, with the most-active Dalian soymeal futures down 1.46% and the most-active Zhengzhou rapeseed meal futures falling 2.04%, as of 0338 GMT.

CBOT corn dropped 0.81% to $4.26-4/8 a bushel on expectations of a record US harvest.

The USDA on Friday raised its 2025 US corn production estimate to a record 16.814 billion bushels from 16.742 billion bushels a month earlier.

Still, high levels of fungal disease in corn fields across the US Midwest are threatening to reduce yields, growers and crop experts said.

Wheat added 0.05% to $5.23-6/8 a bushel, though abundant global supply continued to weigh on sentiment.