Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures firmed on Tuesday on technical and seasonal buying after two sessions of losses, as traders monitored U.S. harvesting, Brazilian planting progress and updates on trade negotiations with China and a U.S. farmer bailout package.
Corn eased under pressure from a likely record-large U.S. crop, although losses were limited by expectations that yields would fall short of the forecasts.
Wheat retreated, pressured by ample global supplies.
Grains markets have remained range-bound as a U.S. government shutdown deprived traders of key U.S. Department of Agriculture data including harvesting progress and production updates.
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Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans SX25 settled up 4-1/4 cents at $10.22 per bushel. December corn CZ25 was down 2 cents at $4.19-3/4 a bushel and CBOT December wheat WZ25 was down 6 cents at $5.06-3/4 a bushel.
“Seasonally, soybeans tend to bottom at the beginning of October. We’re probably 50 per cent harvested by now, farmer selling has been light and the end-user is scrambling a little bit for coverage for the crush,” said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities.
“And the corn harvest is starting to pick up momentum,” he said.
Traders are looking ahead to a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping. They are expected to discuss U.S. soybean exports to top importer China, which has shunned U.S. beans during a trade war.
Trump’s administration is set to announce this week a U.S. farmer bailout plan worth as much as $15 billion.
The aid may be neutral or slightly bullish for the market depending on its size, said Andrey Sizov, head of Sovecon, adding there was no sign of progress toward resuming soybean trade.
“I remain skeptical about any breakthrough here in 2025. China is well covered and probably could try to play this card later, in 2026 closer to the midterms,” he said, referring to U.S. congressional elections.
— Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra
