US wheat, corn and soyabean futures were set to post annual gains after an initial US-China trade deal that could boost agricultural exports helped prices rally toward the end of the year.
The crop futures were little changed on Tuesday as markets wound down during the last session of 2019 and awaited further details on the agreement struck this month between Washington and Beijing.
US President Donald Trump said Phase 1 of the trade deal would be signed on Jan. 15 at the White House and that he would later travel to Beijing to begin talks on the next phase.
Traders are still waiting to see big sales of US crops to China as a result of the initial agreement. Total US corn sales have struggled this year amid ample global supplies.
The most active soyabean futures contract on the Chicago Board of Trade set an 18-month high and was up 1/2 cent at $9.53 a bushel as of 10:15 a.m. CST (1615 GMT). That put the benchmark up 6.5% over the year, in line for its first annual gain in three years.
The most active CBOT wheat contract slipped 1-1/4 cent to $5.54-3/4 a bushel, below Monday's 16-month peak of $5.64-1/2. Wheat was on course for a 10.2% increase over 2019 and a third straight annual rise.
CBOT corn was down 3/4 cent at $3.87-3/4 a bushel, leaving it up 3.4% on the year so far. US farmers grappled with unfavorable crop weather this year, along with the China trade war. Corn futures climbed to a five-year high after historic rains and flooding delayed spring plantings, before losing some ground due to tepid demand.