US soyabean and corn futures stabilized on Friday but remained on course for their fourth consecutive week of losses due to concerns over the escalating trade dispute between the United States and China. Soya prices advanced after plunging to their lowest in nearly a decade on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump threatened more tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
Traders are focused on the tensions because the United States exported $12.4 billion worth of soyabeans to China last year, making it the single most valuable US agricultural export product to the Asian nation. Trade jitters have rattled agricultural markets over the past two weeks amid worries that China, which is also the largest importer of US pork and cotton, would slow or halt purchases of those and other US farm goods.
The Chicago Board of Trade November soyabean contract traded 1.1 percent higher at $9.11 a bushel by 11:40 am CDT (1640 GMT). The front-month contract was still down 1 percent over the week, in what would be a fourth weekly fall. US soyabean and corn crops have benefited from generally favourable growing conditions so far, adding to pressure on prices. July is considered a crucial month for determining corn yields. CBOT corn was nearly unchanged, staying on course for a fourth consecutive weekly decline. Wheat was down 0.6 percent but still up marginally over the week.
Exporters struck separate deals to sell 131,300 tonnes of US corn to Mexico, mostly for delivery in the 2018/19 marketing year, and 117,000 tonnes to Panama during the 2018/19 marketing year, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Next week, traders will digest anticipated US acreage and stocks estimates from the USDA on Friday.