CHICAGO: Chicago grains eased on Friday as traders’ concerns about the US economic outlook inspired a selloff ahead of the weekend, according to analysts.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 1-1/4 cents at $5.56 a bushel at 11:35 a.m. CST (1635 GMT). Soybeans were down 6-3/4 cents at $10.06-1/4 a bushel and corn slipped 6 cents to $4.63 a bushel.
“There is so much uncertainty in the market right now over the economy,” said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting. “Futures traders are concerned that over the weekend you might see a news story come out and blow up their position, so they’re just exiting everything ahead of it,” he said.
Traders are also positioning ahead of March 31, when the US Department of Agriculture will release its grain stocks and prospective planting reports. The data will include estimates for farmers’ planting intentions in 2025.
Also being monitored are tariff tussles between the United States and its trading partners, and discussions to end the Russia-Ukraine war. The US dollar gained ground against the euro on Friday, putting it on pace for its first weekly gain this month, as investors booked profits from the currency’s recent advance and as the April 2 deadline for reciprocal US tariffs approached.
Strength in the dollar pressured US grain futures, as a strong dollar tends to make US exports more expensive and therefore less competitive on the global market.
The International Grains Council forecast a rise in global corn production in the 2025/26 season with larger crops seen in the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Ukraine.
In soybeans, China’s soybean imports from the United States jumped 84.1% in the first two months of 2025 compared with a year ago, but competitive pricing and a trade standoff with the US are expected to boost purchases from Brazil in the months ahead.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.