CANBERRA: Chicago corn futures held their gains on Thursday, after rising nearly 2% in the previous session on the coattails of a stock market rally, triggered by Donald Trump’s re-election as the US president.
Wheat futures held steady, while soybeans rose on strong soyoil prices.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was unchanged at $4.26-1/4 a bushel at 0510 GMT, after climbing 1.9% on Wednesday.
CBOT soybeans were 0.5% higher at $10.08-1/2 a bushel and wheat was flat at $5.73 a bushel. Both eked out small gains on Wednesday.
All three contracts initially fell as it became clearer that Trump would win, raising the threat of another trade war with top importer China and boosting the US dollar.
But prices soon rebounded despite the strong dollar making US farm goods costlier for overseas buyers, as US equities surged.
Trump, who must wait until his inauguration in January 2025 to enact any policy, has proposed tariffs of 60% on Chinese goods and at least 10% on all other imports.
China could retaliate by buying fewer US crops, but this would not bite until the next harvest in mid-2025, analysts said.
Tariffs could also curb US imports of used cooking oil by biofuels producers, raising demand for domestically-produced soyoil. CBOT soyoil held its gains on Thursday.
Chicago wheat, corn and soy fall
Meanwhile, solid US export demand underpinned corn and soybean prices and Russian export restrictions and dry conditions in the Black Sea, a wheat export hub, supported wheat.
“Prices will still come down to supply and demand,” said Rod Baker, an analyst at Australian Crop Forecasters.
Downward pressure on corn and soybeans from the US harvests will soon disappear as those harvests wrap up, while Russian wheat supply will tighten in the new year, pushing prices higher, he said.
Russia’s wheat export curbs helped Ukraine secure sales to Egypt this week and made Egypt pay higher prices, traders said.
Farming areas in northern Argentina will likely see significant rainfall next week, benefiting crops, according to a forecast from the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange (BdeC).
The US Department of Agriculture will update monthly crop estimates on Friday, which could move prices.