Soybean futures rise on hopes China will buy more US supplies
Soybean futures rose on Monday as traders anticipated that a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this week could spur more Chinese buying of American supplies. Most-active soybean futures rose 23-1/2 cents to $13.27 a bushel by 12:30 p.m. CDT (1730 GMT). CBOT corn was 13-1/2 cents higher at $5.41 a bushel, while wheat gained 12 cents to $7.26-1/4 a bushel.
(Adds latest US prices) By Tom Polansek CHICAGO, Sept 21 (Reuters) — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rose on Monday as traders anticipated that a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this week could spur more Chinese buying of American supplies. Traders focused on the Thursday meeting because China is the world's biggest soybean importer. US Treasury Chief Scott Bessent said he had successful talks with the Chinese on trade issues over the weekend. "There's some hopeful optimism on what is going to happen Thursday in the meeting," said Jim Gerlach, president of Indiana-based commodity brokerage A/C Trading.
m. CDT (1730 GMT). The White House said in May that China had committed to purchasing at least $17 billion of US agricultural products in 2026, 2027 and 2028 following meetings between Trump and Xi. Chinese state-owned buyers have bought US soybeans.
However, traders hope that private Chinese buyers could resume purchases if Beijing removes a 10% import duty, said Matt Ammermann, commodity risk manager at StoneX. "Soybeans and corn are supported by hopes of more Chinese buying of US supplies if the Trump-Xi talks this week result in some form of trade deal or tariff reductions," he said. 26-1/4 a bushel. Wheat rose after drone attacks by Ukraine and Russia reduced hopes for a de-escalation in their war, which has virtually stopped their Black Sea grain exports.
Russian companies have been re-purposing fertilizer, coal, and other cargo terminals at Russia's Baltic and Arctic ports to handle grain exports, five sources told Reuters. "It feels like neither Russia nor Ukraine is currently seeking de-escalation or diplomacy which would re-open their Black Sea ports to grain export shipments in the near future," Ammermann said. After trading ends, the US Department of Agriculture is set to issue an update on US corn and soy harvesting, which has been slowed by rain in some areas of the Midwest. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago.
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