CHICAGO – Chicago wheat, corn and soybeans rose, underpinned by strong commodities and equities markets, as well as hopes that China’s easing of COVID-19 restrictions could boost demand.
Soybeans bounced on hopes that China’s move to ease some COVID-19 curbs might spur economic activity, potentially boosting demand for goods including soybeans.
China on Friday shortened quarantine by two days for close contacts of infected people and for inbound travellers, and removed a penalty for airlines for bringing in too many cases. The loosening of curbs cheered markets even as experts cautioned that reopening probably remained a long way off.
“The market is viewing that news as something spectacular,” said Jack Scoville, market analyst at the Price Futures Group.
Strength in crude oil CLc1 also lent support to soybeans, as well as the corn market on the day. Corn sometimes follows trends in crude oil, due to its role as the main US feedstock for ethanol fuel.
And the dollar dipped for a second trading day, as investors bet that peaking US inflation will prompt the Federal Reserve to hold back interest rate hikes.
That, in turn, bolstered agricultural commodities, as a weaker dollar is typically seen as making US goods more competitive on the global market, traders said.
