SINGAPORE — Chicago soybeans slid on Tuesday, giving up some gains from the previous session, as expectations of a bumper US harvest weighed on prices.
The drop erased part of the legume’s Monday gains which were sparked by US President Donald Trump’s remarks that he hoped China would quadruple its soybean purchases.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) ell 1.1 percent to $10.00 a bushel, as of 0403 GMT, after climbing nearly 2.5 percent on Monday.
“Trump’s statement supported prices in the last session but reality is that US is losing market share in China,” said one oilseed trader in Singapore.
Corn and wheat eased as traders squared their positions ahead of the monthly US Department of Agriculture (USDA) supply and demand report, which is expected to show plentiful supplies.
Corn Cv1 lost 0.8 percent to $4.04-1/2 a bushel and wheat shed 0.5 percent to $5.12-1/4 a bushel.
US soybean prices jumped to a two-week high on Monday after Trump urged China, the world’s biggest soybean importer, to quadruple its purchases ahead of a tariff truce deadline, though analysts questioned the feasibility of any such deal.
China has not yet pre-purchased soybeans from the upcoming US harvest amid trade tensions with Washington, an unusual delay that has fuelled concerns among US farmers and traders as the harvest export season approaches.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order extending a tariff truce with China by another 90 days, with only hours to go before US tariffs on Chinese goods were due to snap back to triple-digit rates.
Condition ratings for US corn and soybean crops eased in a weekly USDA report on Monday, though farmers were still expected to harvest large crops.
The USDA rated 72 percent of the corn crop as being in good or excellent shape as of Sunday, down from 73 percent last week. It was the highest rating for this time of year since 2016.
The soybean crop was rated 68 percent good to excellent, down from 69 percent last week and the same as a year ago.
Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean and soymeal future contracts on Monday and net sellers of corn, wheat and soyoil, traders said.
