CHICAGO: US corn and wheat futures fell on Friday on month-end positioning while soybeans traded nearly flat and soybean oil jumped more than 2% in volatile trade amid ongoing uncertainty around US President Donald Trump’s plans for tariffs.
Chicago Board of Trade benchmark corn futures settled down 8-1/4 cents at $4.82 per bushel and wheat ended down 7 cents at $5.59-1/2 a bushel. The most-active CBOT soybean contract fell down 2 cents to end at $10.42 a bushel while soyoil settled up 1.13 cents or about 2.5% to 46.11 cents per pound, after gyrating in a wide trading range.
Corn and soybeans futures were pressured and soyoil futures briefly turned lower on news that tariffs were expected to be implemented on Canada and Mexico by the Trump administration on March 1. But CBOT soyoil futures surged back after the White House said that the United States will impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, along with 10% on China, on Saturday.
“Trading grains over the next four years will turn more grey hair bleach white, with the headline stress,” said Terry Reilly, senior agricultural strategist with Marex. Analysts have said that the tariffs Trump has threatened could spark retaliation from impacted countries and trade wars, hurting the markets for US agricultural exports. Trump has said that the tariffs would take effect if Canada and Mexico do not stem the flow of illegal migrants and the drug fentanyl into the United States.
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