Soybeans rebound from near 3-week low, US-China trade war weighs

SYDNEY/PARIS: US soybean futures rebounded from a near three-week low on Monday, helped by news that China's imports of US soybeans had jumped in July, but concern remained about the latest salvos in the trade war between Washington and Beijing.

China's soybean imports rose three-fold in July from a year earlier as cargoes that had been booked by Chinese state firms during a bilateral truce in December arrived.

However, tensions between the world's two largest economies escalated again in recent weeks, throwing the market into further turmoil.

Corn rose, rebounding from losses of nearly 1% on Friday, while wheat was little changed.

The most active soybean futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were up 1.6% at $8.7 a bushel, as of 1048 GMT. Earlier in the session, they hit $8.55 a bushel, their lowest since Aug. 5. Soybeans closed down 1.4% on Friday.

Even as the market rebounded, analysts said the escalation in the US-China trade war weighed on sentiment.

"There is no good news for US producers from an escalation in the US-China trade war and in that environment, there is little upside for prices," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist, National Australia Bank.

China, the world's top buyer of soybeans, slapped 25% tariffs on a list of US products including soybeans in July last year in response to similar trade measures Washington had levied on Chinese goods, bringing US soybean shipments to a virtual halt.

On Friday it further announced retaliatory tariffs on about $75 billion worth of US goods, including agricultural products.

However, the impact on grains was seen as largely psychological, given that China already said this month it had halted purchases of US agricultural products.

"The fact that positions have become further entrenched means that no agreement in the foreseeable future is likely," Commerzbank said in a note.

The most active corn futures were up 0.9% at $3.71 a bushel, having closed 0.9% weaker in the previous session.

Analysts noted Pro Farmer projection for US 2019 corn yield at 163.3 bushels per acre and the US soybean yield at 46.1 bushels per acre, both below the US Department of Agriculture's most recent forecasts.

The most active wheat futures were 0.1% higher at $4.78 a bushel, having closed up 0.2% on Friday.