BEIJING: Chicago soybean futures bounced back on Wednesday, as markets remained hopeful for progress in trade talks with top soy buyer China, a deal that could help US farmers avert major losses.
As of 0401 GMT, the most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.17% at $10.32-1/2 per bushel.
Markets are focused on a key meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea next week.
Trump has said he wants a “fair deal” and has repeatedly called for China to resume purchases of US soybeans.
“The bottom line is that a trade deal that is worth 10 million metric tons of soybeans helps complete China’s needs, while helping to meet USDA’s (US Department of Agriculture)current balance sheet projections,” StoneX Chief Commodities Economist Arlan Suderman said in a client note yesterday.
“On the other hand, failure to get any deal on soybeans from China next week could pull the rug out from under USDA’s demand estimates, leaving a bloated balance sheet.”
Currently, there are no new sales of United States’ soybeans to China and nothing is expected to be loaded in coming weeks, according to information from US soy industry groups American Soybean Association (ASA) and the US Soybean Export Council.
The Trump administration is planning to distribute billions in aid for farmers and reopen some activities of the US Department of Agriculture amid the ongoing federal shutdown.
Corn traded flat at $4.19-3/4 a bushel, as the market awaits further clarity on crop size.
Wheat edged up 0.05% to $5-1/2 a bushel but remained near 5-year lows, pressured by ample global supply. On Tuesday, Russia’s IKAR consultancy said it has raised its 2025 wheat and grain production forecasts for the country.