US soybeans rise on bargain buying, China tariff decision limits gains
- The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 0.2% at $12.90-1/2 a bushel
SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures climbed on Tuesday on bargain buying, although gains were capped after China excluded soybeans from a list of US agricultural products eligible for tariff cuts.
Wheat firmed after falling to a six-week low in the previous session on optimism that diplomatic efforts could ease disruptions to Black Sea grain exports.
“China’s plans to keep tariffs on US soybeans will limit demand for US cargoes just as harvest is starting,” said an oilseed trader in Singapore.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.2% at $12.90-1/2 a bushel by 0252 GMT.
The contract hit its weakest point since August 31 on Monday.
Wheat edged 0.1% higher to $6.89-1/4 a bushel, having dropped to its lowest point since August 19 in the previous session.
Corn rose 0.3% to $5.24-1/4 a bushel.
China is set to lowertariffs on a broad range of US agricultural products, including corn, wheat, meat and dairy, but soybeans, its biggest agricultural import from the US, were omitted from a tariff-reduction list jointly issued by China’s commerce ministry and the White House.
The announcement implies that US soybeans will still face an additional tariff of 10%, which traders have warned is too high for private importers to absorb, even as Chinese state buyers have stepped up purchases.
The wheat market remained focused on diplomatic efforts to ease disruptions to Black Sea exports, traders said, even as daily attacks continued in Russia’s 4-1/2-year war with Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that India, Turkey, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries were taking part in talks on unblocking shipping in the Black Sea, while Turkey has submitted proposals to Moscow on the security of shipping.
Russia could quickly restart up to 80% of its grain terminal capacity in the Black Sea if diplomatic efforts to halt mutual attacks result in a ceasefire, a Reuters analysis of industry data showed.
US farmers have harvested 18% of the corn crop and 17% of soybeans, matching their average pace over the past five years, the US Department of Agriculture said on Monday.
Crop-monitoring service MARS lowered its yield forecasts on Monday for maize and sugar beet in the European Union, citing that rainfall had returned too late to reverse damage from summer heat and drought in the bloc.
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