Chicago soybeans slip as rising global supplies weigh

BEIJING: Chicago Board of Trade soybeans fell on Friday amid ample global supplies, pulling back from a two-month high sparked by President Donald Trump’s remarks that China would buy more US soybeans.

Corn and wheat also declined.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.5% at $11.07 a bushel, as of 0440 GMT.

The oilseed jumped 4% for the week.

Soybeans hit a two-month high on Wednesday after Trump posted that China was “lifting the soybean count to 20 million tons” for the current season—implying China could buy an additional 8 million metric tons of US soybeans in 2025/26 on top of about 12 million tons already booked since the late-October trade truce.

“Volatility will still be the theme for a little while yet in the soybean market.

Certainly, US farmers will be hoping the Chinese really do follow through with the increased buying program,“ said Josh Lawrence, advisory consultant at IKON Commodities.

Chinese soybean importers face much higher costs to bring in the additional US cargoes, while rival Brazilian supplies are far cheaper in their peak export season.

However, additional purchases of US soybeans may represent a political gesture by Beijing, despite higher costs, ahead of Trump’s planned April visit to China, according to analysts.

China, the largest purchaser of US soybeans, is expected to lean heavily on Brazilian soybeans in the first half of 2026.

Brazil, the world’s largest soybean producer and exporter, is expected to produce 181.6 million metric tons in 2025/26, consultancy firm StoneX said on Monday, raising its outlook by 2.3% from a January projection.

CBOT Corn lost 0.2% to $4.34 a bushel, but climbed 1.3% this week.

Wheat was down 0.5% at $5.32-3/4 a bushel, falling 1% for the week. Improved weather conditions in the Black Sea region capped wheat prices, analysts said.

Wheat traders have been monitoring severe cold in the US, Russian production belts, but snow cover is expected to limit potential crop losses.

Nearly all Russian crops were in normal condition as of Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev said.