Chicago soybeans, corn higher ahead of US-China trade talks
CHICAGO: Chicago soybean and corn futures bounced on Friday as traders covered short positions ahead of Saturday's meeting between senior US and Chinese officials and a widely tracked US Department of Agriculture report on Monday, analysts said.
Front and back month wheat contracts sank to lifetime lows as good weather in the US Plains and lackluster export demand prompted traders and commodity funds to add to already-large short positions. Most-active Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures fell 7-1/2 cents to settle at $5.20-3/4 per bushel, with the July contract hitting a lifetime low of $5.21-1/2 a bushel.
'The wheat market continues to be on a trainwreck,' Terry Linn, vice president at Linn & Associates, said. 'Funds are piling on to the short side.'
CBOT soybeans rose 6-3/4 cents to $10.51-3/4 per bushel. CBOT corn closed 2-1/4 cents higher at $4.49-3/4 per bushel. The weekend US-China trade talks in Geneva have been described by White House officials as a step towards de-escalating tensions and containing a trade war between the world's two biggest economies.
The soybean market has been particularly sensitive to the tariff standoff between China, the world's biggest soybean importer, and the United States, the world's second-largest exporter of the oilseed. Export sales of US corn and soybeans have also given support to prices.
However, ideal planting and growing conditions in the US corn and soy belts have put a lid on prices while the upcoming Brazilian corn harvest is expected to pull global demand away from US corn in the coming weeks.
Improving US winter wheat crop conditions and forecast rain in the Black Sea export region have weighed heavily on wheat prices. Traders were also positioning ahead of the USDA's world crop report on Monday that will include its first supply and demand balance sheets for 2025–26.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
Chicago soyoil futures hit 18-month high on biofuel mandate, Mideast tensions
BEIJING: Chicago soyoil futures surged to their highest level in nearly 18 months, buoyed by higher-than-expected biofuel blending proposals and a rally in crude oil prices amid escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. The most-active soyoil contract on the Chicago Board of Trade jumped 4.58% at 52.93 cents per pound, as of 0134 GMT, its highest since December 20, 2023. Soyoil, a key feedstock for biodiesel fuel, gained support after the US Environmental Protection Agency proposed last Friday to increase the amount of biofuels that oil refiners must blend into the nation's fuel mix over the next two years. The proposal exceeded trade expectations. Rising crude oil prices also lifted soyoil, as higher energy costs typically make biodiesel more competitive. Oil extended Friday's rally, as renewed strikes by Israel and Iran over the weekend increased concerns that the battle could widen across the region and significantly disrupt oil exports from the Middle East. Soybean fell 0.26% to $10.67 per bushel, retreating from a three-week high hit last Friday. Weak demand, abundant global supplies and continued tariff uncertainty remain a drag on prices. Wheat dipped 0.74% to $5.39-6/8 a bushel amid seasonal pressure as the Northern Hemisphere's winter wheat harvest gets underway. Soybeans climb, soyoil soars daily limit on US biofuel proposal Corn dropped 0.45% to $4.42-4/8 a bushel, weighed down by favourable weather forecasts for crop development in the US corn belt. Traders are awaiting updated weekly crop ratings due later on Monday from the US Department of Agriculture. Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soyoil, soybean, wheat and corn futures contracts on Friday and net sellers of soymeal futures, traders said.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Renault boss De Meo quits; report says he will head Gucci-owner Kering
PARIS: Renault CEO Luca de Meo is leaving the French carmaker to pursue a role outside the auto industry, the company said on Sunday, and newspaper Le Figaro reported he would become the new chief executive of Gucci-owner Kering. De Meo turned around the troubled French automaker in his five years at the helm, overhauling its two-decade-long strategic alliance with Nissan and doubling down on hybrid motors while shifting towards electric vehicles. The Italian will replace Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault, whose family controls the heavily indebted luxury conglomerate and who has been leading it for 20 years, Le Figaro reported. Kering declined to comment on Le Figaro's report. 'Luca de Meo has expressed his decision to step down in order to take on new challenges outside the automotive sector,' Renault said in a statement. De Meo will leave Renault in mid-July, Renault added. The French state holds a 15% stake in the company. If confirmed, de Meo's move to Kering, which has lately failed to convince stock market investors of its plans to turn around its Gucci label, would mark a dramatic change at the group. Pinault would remain Kering's chairman. Speculation about the leadership of the group, which also owns the Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga labels, accelerated last week after French media reported Pinault was poised to give up the CEO role. A person familiar with the thinking of Pinault told Reuters on Friday he was actively working on his succession, which includes splitting up the two roles to hire a new CEO. Kering shares have lost more than 60% of their value in the last two years, marked by a string of profit warnings and designer changes at Gucci, a former cash cow for the company and still its most important brand by sales and profits. Turnaround architect De Meo's unexpected departure marks the second top-level exit from a European carmaker in six months, after Carlos Tavares resigned from Stellantis, at a time the sector in Europe is reeling from US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs and fierce competition from Chinese rivals. De Meo joined Renault from Volkswagen in 2020, a year when the French carmaker reported record losses after a pandemic-induced hit to sales. In the years since, De Meo launched wide-ranging cost cuts that sharply reduced headcount and production capacity worldwide and turned the firm into a smaller but nimbler company. He also oversaw a vast reshaping of Renault's decades-old, but often difficult, relationship with Japan's Nissan. Separately the Nikkei newspaper cited Nissan boss Ivan Espinosa as saying it was considering selling some of its Renault stake. Nissan plans to reduce stake in Renault, CEO Espinosa tells Nikkei 'There has been no change in the longstanding cooperative relationship between Nissan and Renault,' Nissan said in a statement, adding no 'definitive decisions' had been made on a share sale. Renault's focus on European markets has largely shielded it from the upheaval tied to US trade policies that German carmakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz are facing. Renault was one of only a few automakers not to issue a profit warning last fall. Its shares are up about 90% over the past five years, the best performing carmaker in Europe. Rival Stellantis is up 15% and VW is down 38%. Kering faces its own turnaround needs. Under Pinault's leadership, the group became a pure luxury player and enjoyed years of spectacular growth, largely thanks to Gucci. But since the COVID-19 pandemic, Kering has struggled to reinvigorate the brand and also took on more than 10 billion euros in debt which now exposes it to the risk of another credit downgrade, Reuters reported last month. Kering unexpectedly cancelled an event with analysts planned for Monday, without saying why, a person familiar with the matter said.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
China's crude steel output falls, keeping industry on track for cuts
BEIJING: China's crude steel output slipped sharply in May compared to the prior year, surprising analysts and keeping steelmakers on track for lower production this year in line with Beijing's push to cut output in the sector. Beijing unveiled plans in March to restructure the giant steel sector via output cuts this year, leaving key details including the time and scale of output curb unanswered. May output slid 6.9% from a year earlier to 86.55 million metric tons, taking the year-to-date total to 431.63 million tons of crude steel, down 1.7% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday. Struggle for steel continues May output missed expectations among analysts again after an unexpected fall in April. An official from the state-backed China Iron and Steel Association forecast at an industrial event last week China's steel output will fall by 4% year-on-year in 2025. Falling output in the world's largest steelmaker comes at a time when profitability among steelmakers is improving thanks to robust exports and better-than-expected domestic demand. More than a half of Chinese steelmakers were operating at a profit in the first five months, versus an average of 35% over the same period in 2024, data from consultancy Mysteel showed. Despite growing trade barriers, China's steel exports from January to May climbed by 8.9% to an all-time high for the period at 48.47 million tons. Average daily output in May was 2.79 million tons, down 2.6% from 2.87 million tons in April, according to Reuters calculations based on the data.
