Soybean futures stabilise on US-China trade war truce; wheat dips on USDA report
BEIJING: Chicago soybean futures eased on Tuesday, after hitting a three-month high in the previous session following a temporary truce in the US-China trade war and a bullish US Department of Agriculture report.
The most-active CBOT soybean contract eased 0.3% to $10.68 a bushel, as of 0248 GMT, following three sessions of gains.
On Monday, China and the US reached a deal to temporarily reduce reciprocal tariffs, boosting hopes for revived Chinese demand for US farm goods.
The USDA's supply and demand report estimated 2025-26 US soybean ending stocks at 295 million bushels, lower than analysts' 362 million bushels estimate.
For 2024-25, US soy stocks were pegged at 350 million bushels, below April's forecast of 375 million bushels and analysts' expectations of 369 million bushels.
China's benchmark Dalian soymeal futures rose 0.21% on the bullish USDA report, shrugging off news of a temporary truce in the China-US trade war, as analysts cautioned that uncertainty could persist ahead of the US soybean marketing season.
The Asian nation projected a decline in soybean imports for the 2025/26 crop year due to reduced soymeal use in its livestock sector.
Wheat fell 0.58% to $5.12 a bushel, near lifetime lows, pressured by high US and global wheat stocks in the USDA report, weak exports, and favourable weather.
The USDA estimated both US and global 2025-26 wheat ending stocks above analyst estimates.
Soybeans, corn up on US-China trade optimism; wheat flat
'We think that wheat has overshot to the downside enough and US wheat is the cheapest in the world so it will find solid demand at these levels,' said Ole Houe, director of advisory services at IKON Commodities in Sydney. Corn dipped 0.06% to $4.48 per bushel.
'Corn is trying to react to a bullish global USDA report longer term versus an increase in the US corn stocks and market doing very little as they balance each other out,' Houe added.
The USDA projects US corn ending stocks at 1.415 billion bushels for September 1, 2025, down from 1.465 billion bushels in April, and below analysts' 1.443 billion bushels estimate.
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