PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago soybeans ticked higher on Friday, keeping the oilseed market on course for a monthly gain, as investors waited on US-China trade talks to see whether the two sides can defuse a trade dispute that has disruped global soybean flows.
Corn and wheat also edged higher in restrained trading before a meeting of G20 countries in Argentina that starts on Friday and is due to include head-to-head discussions between US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Saturday.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 0.3 percent at $8.90 a bushel by 1253 GMT for a 4.5 percent gain over November.
CBOT wheat was up 0.3 percent at $5.09-1/2 a bushel while corn crept half a cent higher to $3.73-3/4 a bushel.
As the most valuable US agricultural export to China, soybeans have taken the brunt of reciprocal tariffs imposed by Washington and Beijing in their trade stand-off. Trump has sent mixed signals about the prospects for a trade deal with China, saying an agreement was close but he was not sure he wants one.
"Grain markets have all hands on deck searching for the latest clues regarding tomorrow's high-stakes meeting between the US and Chinese presidents," brokerage Allendale said in a note.
"End-of-month positioning will also play a role as traders prep for the final trading month of the year."
US soybean exports in the new season are running at their lowest level in years after shipments to China dried up, though there has been a surge in volumes to other destinations, including unusual flows to soybean exporter Argentina.
Wheat prices have been underpinned by expectations that US wheat exports will pick up next year as the Black Sea region runs out of surplus supplies. However, moderate US shipments so far this season and increased estimates for Russian exports have tempered those hopes.
The US Department of Agriculture reported weekly wheat export sales of 377,100 tonnes, in line with trade expectations.
Weekly US corn export sales of 1.266 million tonnes topped expectations, but weakness in soybean futures and sagging prices for corn-based ethanol hung over the market.
Support from brisk corn exports was offset by weak prices for corn-based ethanol fuel.
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