CANBERRA: Chicago corn, soybean and wheat futures steadied on Tuesday after concerns that US President Donald Trump will impose trade tariffs pushed prices lower in recent days.
Soybeans at one-week low on Argentine tax cuts; wheat, corn down
Fundamentals
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The most active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.2% at $4.83 a bushel at 0249 GMT, with CBOT soybeans rising 0.1% to $10.45-3/4 a bushel and wheat up 0.1% at $5.36-1/4 a bushel.
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Last week, corn rose to a 15-month high of $4.95, soybeans to a six-month peak of $10.76-1/4 and wheat to a six-week high of $5.67, in part due to relief that Trump did not impose tariffs as soon as he was inaugurated.
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But Trump in recent days threatened to impose large tariffs on Colombia after it temporarily refused to accept deportees from the United States, and he has spoken about placing tariffs on Canada and Mexico from Feb. 1.
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A giant sell-off of tech stocks on Monday did not help. * Soybeans are also under pressure after major producer Argentina said last week it would reduce export taxes, which could trigger a surge in exports.
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Weak demand is meanwhile dragging on wheat, despite fears that cold weather may have killed as much as 15% of the winter wheat crop in some US cropping areas and a slight increase in export prices from top shipper Russia.
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China’s upcoming Lunar New Year holiday is also expected to slow export trade.
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Speculators hold a large net long position in CBOT corn due to expectations of tight supply but are broadly even in soybeans and net short wheat.
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Consultants AgRural on Monday lowered their forecast for Brazil’s 2024/25 soybean crop by 500,000 metric tons to 171 million metric tons but that is still a huge crop compared to previous years.
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