Chicago soybeans pull back after four-day rally; traders eye USDA crop report

BEIJING: Chicago soybean futures retreated on Monday, pressured by rising competition from South America, after four straight sessions of gains driven by US President Donald Trump’s comments last week that China might increase purchases of US beans.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.38% to $11.11 a bushel by 0254 GMT.

Soybeans had surged to a two-month high last week after Trump’s remark that China was considering lifting US soybean purchases to 20 million metric tons for the current season.

However, market participants remain sceptical of the target, as higher prices make it uneconomical for Chinese buyers to purchase US soybeans.

“US-China soybean trade appears to be running out of steam with that growing supply pressure out of South America ever present,” said Sean Hickey, analyst at Bendigo Bank Agribusiness.

In Brazil, farmers have harvested 16.55% of the area planted with soy for the 2025/26 season, above the 9.84% harvested this time last year, according to consultancy Patria AgroNegocios. Preliminary data based on shipping schedules from exporter group Anec suggests that Brazil’s soybean exports could reach 14 million tons from January to February.

Traders were adjusting their positions ahead of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) world crop report on Tuesday.

“Net long positions held in CBOT soy, corn and wheat contracts have increased with traders positioning ahead of the WASDE release later this week,” said Hickey.

CBOT wheat dropped 0.28% to $5.28-1/4 a bushel, while corn fell 0.23% to $4.29-1/4 a bushel, with both pressured by ample global supplies.

“The wheat market is awaiting news of any production issues for northern hemisphere winter wheat crops,” said Dennis Voznesenski, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank in Sydney.

“The market is watching closely for any crop damage news out of Ukraine due to limited snow cover in some southern regions.” Ukrainian agriculture consultancy APK-Inform said on Sunday that it had revised down its 2025/26 wheat export forecast to 14.5 million tons from 16.7 million tons due to slow exports.

Corn traders were also monitoring dry weather in Argentina, although a large US harvest last year and favourable planting conditions for Brazil’s second corn crop have somewhat alleviated concerns.