US grain and soyabean futures touched their highest prices in about a week on Wednesday, as agricultural markets stabilized following recent drops to contract lows. Hopes for increased US commodity export demand helped support soya prices, after the market fell to a 10-year low on Monday amid widespread concerns about the US-China trade dispute, traders said.
China's buyers have loaded up on soyabeans from Brazil, instead of the United States because of a 25 percent tariff on imports of US soya that Beijing had threatened for weeks to impose and then enacted on July 6.
The shift in Chinese demand has pressured US soya prices and pushed up Brazilian premiums. However, US soyabean prices are now looking more competitive with Brazilian soyabeans, traders said.
Most-active soyabeans traded up to $8.63-1/2 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade, its highest price since July 11, before paring gains. The contract was up 2-1/4 cents at $8.57-1/2 a bushel at 11:28 a.m. CDT (1638 GMT).
China's retaliatory tariffs on US soyabeans have triggered a wave of bargain shopping by importers in other countries stocking up on cheap US supplies. More buying emerged on Thursday as the US Department of Agriculture said exporters struck deals to sell 199,500 metric tons of US soyabeans to Pakistan for delivery in the 2018-19 marketing year.
Concerns about declining US soya and corn crop conditions helped underpin prices, after hot and dry weather hit some growing areas, traders said. Global weather problems also supported wheat prices, they said.
CBOT corn was flat at $3.59 -3/4 a bushel after trading as high as $3.62-3/4, its highest price since July 12.
The most-active CBOT wheat contract traded as high as $5.05 a bushel, its highest since July 10, before slipping 1/4 cent to $4.97-1/2.