Chicago soybeans slip as traders monitor China buying; wheat, corn also down

BEIJING: Chicago soybean futures edged lower on Monday, weighed down by ample global supplies and lingering doubts over whether top buyer China will reach the 12-million-metric-ton purchase target cited by some US officials by the year-end.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.4% at $11.33-1/4 a bushel, as of 0357 GMT.

China started buying US soybeans, wheat and sorghum after Washington and Beijing struck a trade truce in late October.

The US government has confirmed more than 2 million tons of soybean sales since October 30. However, the slow buying pace has raised fears that China could fall well short of the 12-million-ton target - a figure that Beijing has not confirmed.

Last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy Agroconsult forecast that Brazilian farmers would harvest a record 178.1 million tons of soybeans in the 2025/26 season, marking its first estimate for the current crop.

CBOT wheat fell 0.32% to $5.36-3/4 a bushel amid abundant global supplies.

In Argentina, the 2025/26 wheat harvest is expected to reach a record 25.5 million tons, up from a previous estimate of 24 million tons, thanks to higher-than-expected yields as harvesting progresses, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday.

Australia is also poised to raise its wheat, barley and canola production estimates this week, supported by timely pre-harvest rain in the south and stronger yields in the west, according to a survey of analysts.

Corn slipped 0.39% to $4.46 a bushel, easing after strong US export demand pushed prices on Friday to their highest level since early June.