SINGAPORE: Chicago soybeans slid to a nearly six-week low on Wednesday, giving up some of last session’s gains as the market was weighed down by harvest pressure and China’s absence from the US market. Corn and wheat rose on bargain-buying.
“China is buying soybeans from Brazil and Argentina,” said one trader in Singapore.
“US market is facing pressure as there is no demand from China and US harvest is gathering pace.”
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.2% to $10.10 a bushel as of 0223 GMT, not far from the six-week low of $10.05 hit on Tuesday. Corn added 0.1% to $4.26-1/2 a bushel and wheat rose 0.4% to $5.22-1/2 a bushel.
China has yet to buy soybean cargoes from the autumn US harvest, an unusual delay, amid the Washington-Beijing trade war and the window for possible deals is shrinking, traders said.
There was increased competition from South America.
On Monday, Argentina temporarily eliminated export taxes on soybeans, grains and their byproducts, as well as on beef and poultry, in a bid to speed up sales abroad and rake in much-needed dollars to prop up the flagging peso.
Chinese buyers booked at least 10 cargoes of Argentine soybeans, three traders said, dealing another setback to US farmers already shut out of their top market and hit by low prices.
Hopes of a resumption in US soybean trade with China were dashed when a call on Friday between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping brought no news on agricultural commodities.
Soybean and corn futures were also facing seasonal supply pressure from the onset of the US harvest, though doubts over yields have helped underpin markets.
The US corn harvest was 11% complete by Sunday and the soybean harvest was 9% finished, per US government data.
