Wheat rose on what appeared to be fund-driven short-covering, while corn futures sagged in choppy trade.

Chicago Board of Trade March soybean futures closed up 1-1/2 cents at $11.24 per bushel after reaching $11.28-1/4, the contract’s highest since February 6.

CBOT March wheat gained nine cents to close at $5.37-1/4 a bushel while March corn settled down 1-1/4 cent at $4.27-1/2 a bushel.

Soybeans rallied as traders gauged the likelihood of top global soy buyer China booking more U.S. soybeans.

U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that China had increased its target for U.S. soybean purchases, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a monthly world crop report on Tuesday said, “China is reported to be considering buying more U.S. soybeans.”

Brazil, the world’s biggest soy producer and exporter, has begun harvesting a record-large soybean crop that is expected to dominate the global export market in the coming months. But the prospect of China buying additional U.S. soy cargoes under a trade truce has buoyed the futures market.

“The big unknown with China continues to be the big factor. We are finding that futures are just not able to set back very much in this environment,” said Terry Linn, analyst with Linn & Associates in Chicago.

Wheat climbed despite a lack of news. Commodity funds hold a hefty net short position in CBOT wheat futures, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of short-covering.

Corn futures drifted lower, losing to soybeans and wheat on inter-market spreads. The market shrugged off confirmation from the USDA of private sales of 230,560 metric tons of U.S. corn to unknown destinations.

-Additional reporting by Daphne Zhang and Lewis Jackson in Beijing, and Gus Trompiz in Paris

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Most-active April live cattle contracts gained 3.550 cents to close at 240.975 cents per pound. June live cattle settled at 236.575 cents a pound, up 2.775 cents.

Most-traded March feeder cattle closed at 367.450 cents per pound, up 2.675 cents. April contracts gained 3.325 cents to settle at 364.600 cents a pound.

Choice boxed beef slid by $1.63 to $365.92 per cwt, the USDA said in its afternoon report. Select beef was valued at $362.58 per cwt, down $0.32.

Historically tight U.S. cattle supplies have elevated cash cattle prices in recent weeks, while meat packers’ profit margins have fallen to deeply negative levels.

Packers were losing nearly $270 per head of cattle as of Tuesday, according to Denver-based livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com LLC.

Most-active April lean hogs settled at 93.850 cents a pound, down 1.650 cents. June contracts closed at 107.475 cents a pound, down 1.425 cents.

Pork carcass cutout value settled at $93.77 per cwt, down $1.69.

-With files from Reuters

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Most-active April live cattle contracts lost 0.775 cents to close at 237.425 cents a pound. June futures settled at 233.800 cents a pound, down 0.525 cents.

Most-traded March feeder cattle futures closed at 364.775 cents a pound, down 2.675 cents. April feeders settled at 361.275 cents per pound, down 1.925 cents.

Choice boxed beef slipped by $0.21 to end the afternoon at $367.55 per cwt the USDA reported. Select boxed beef was valued at $362.90 per cwt, down $2.45.

“Following a large spike higher last week, Wednesday, the market has been struggling to find its bullish footing,” wrote Walsh Trading analyst Jefferson Fosse.

Fosse noted that markets have had little reaction to news of increased beef imports from Argentina and to news that a New World screwworm dispersal facility had been completed in Texas. He added he was still bullish on cattle prices for the long run, but had some concerns in the short-term outlook.

Most-active April lean hog futures closed at 95.500 cents a pound, down 1.225 cents. June contracts closed down 0.900 cents at 108.900 cents per pound.

Pork carcass cutout value slipped by $0.37 to end the afternoon at $95.46 per cwt.

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The expanding harvest of a record-large Brazilian soybean crop added to bearish sentiment, analysts said.

Chicago Board of Trade March soybean futures SH26 settled down 4-1/2 cents at $11.10-3/4 per bushel, retreating from Friday’s high of $11.37-3/4, the contract’s highest level since early December.

But CBOT soyoil futures bucked the lower trend, rising more than two per cent after the U.S. and India released an interim framework for a trade deal that could lower barriers to Indian imports of U.S. soyoil.

Corn and wheat futures drifted lower amid a lack of supportive news. CBOT March corn CH26 ended down 1-1/2 cents at $4.28-3/4 a bushel and March wheat WH26 finished down 1 cent at $5.28-3/4 a bushel.

Last week’s surge in soybean futures, tied to hopes for fresh purchases by China, unleashed a wave of cash soybean sales by U.S. farmers that helped knock futures off their highs by Friday. Soybeans had risen last week after Trump said China was considering raising U.S. soybean purchases to 20 million metric tons for the current season. But dealers remain skeptical as higher prices make it uneconomical for China to purchase U.S. beans.

The focus by Monday appeared to shift back to Brazil, the world’s top soy supplier, where growers had harvested 16 per cent of the soybean crop as of last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said. That was just above the 15 per cent level reported a year earlier.

“A lot of this has to do with the Brazilian harvest getting into full tilt,” said Tom Fritz, a partner with Chicago-based EFG Group.

Ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly world supply-demand report on Tuesday, analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the agency to raise its estimate of Brazil’s soybean harvest to 179.4 million metric tons, from its previous forecast of 178 million, already an all-time high.

Brazilian crop supply agency Conab is scheduled to release its own production estimates on Thursday.

Traders shrugged off news from the USDA on Monday confirming private sales of 264,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China.

“U.S.-China soybean trade appears to be running out of steam with that growing supply pressure out of South America ever-present,” said Sean Hickey, an analyst at Bendigo Bank Agribusiness.

-Additional reporting by Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson in Beijing and Michael Hogan in Hamburg

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Most-active April live cattle futures closed at 238.200 cents a pound, up 0.950 cents. June contracts gained 0.475 cents to settle at 234.325 cents.

Most-traded March feeder cattle contracts closed at 367.450 cents per pound, up 0.025 cents. April feeders settled at 363.200 cents per pound, a gain of 0.400 cents.

Choice boxed beef fell by $1.57 per cwt to $367.76 per cwt. Select beef gained $0.82 to settle at $365.35 per cwt.

“Cash cattle and beef market fundamentals and technicals remain solid, but the U.S. stock market has wobbled, and other commodity markets have become more unstable,” wrote analyst Jim Wyckoff, naming gold, silver and copper.

The size of daily price moves in gold and silver has spooked commodity market traders, Wyckoff said. For cattle futures to trend toward record high prices and for lean hog futures to continue their upward track, “it’s likely the U.S. stock indexes will need to at least hold near their present levels, while the metals markets will need to squash the recent extreme daily price volatility.”

Most-active April lean hog futures lost 1.225 cents to settle at 96.725 cents a pound. June contracts lost 0.425 cents and closed at 109.800 cents per pound.

The USDA reported pork carcass cutout value at $95.83 per cwt on Monday afternoon, up $2.06.

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Corn and wheat chopped up and down, though ample global supply continued to curb grain prices while traders turned their attention to a U.S. Department of Agriculture world crop report due Tuesday.

The most-active CBOT soybean Sv1 contract settled 3 cents higher at $11.15-1/4 a bushel.

Soybeans hit a two-month high on Wednesday after Trump posted that China was hiking purchases and “lifting the soybean count to 20 million tons” for the current season.

That implied that China could buy an additional 8 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans in 2025/26 on top of about 12 million tons already booked since a trade truce was reached in late October.

“The market is assuming that China will buy something,” said Dan Basse, president of AgResource Company, though he noted that many industry players are skeptical that Trump’s comments will prove accurate.

The remarks surprised traders, who expected China to rely heavily on Brazilian soybeans in the first half of 2026.

Brazil, the world’s largest soybean producer and exporter, is expected to produce 181.6 million metric tons in 2025/26, consultancy firm StoneX said on Monday, raising its outlook for the harvest that is in progress.

Meanwhile, CBOT corn Cv1 closed 4-3/4 cents lower to $4.30-1/4 per bushel. CBOT wheat Wv1 closed 5-1/2 cents lower at $5.29-3/4 per bushel.

Traders are monitoring dry weather in Argentina, though a massive U.S. harvest last year and favorable planting conditions for Brazil’s second corn crop tempered concerns.

In wheat, traders have been monitoring severe cold in the U.S.and in Russian production belts, but snow cover is expected to limit potential crop losses. Nearly all Russian crops were in normal condition as of Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev said.

-Additional reporting by Daphne Zhang and Lewis Jackson in Beijing and Gus Trompiz in Paris

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CME April live cattle LCJ26 finished 51.65 cents to end at 237.25 cents per pound, while March feeder cattle FCH26 finished 3.35 cents higher at 367.325 cents per pound.

The planned release of sterile flies in Texas and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization for ivermectin to treat screwworm infestations further solidified the belief among market players that the border will remain closed to cattle imports.

Cattle futures had stumbled on Thursday, breaking a three-day rally under pressure from a strike authorization vote at a JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado, analysts said.

Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s biannual report stated the U.S. cattle herd had fallen to its smallest size since 1951. Despite being a week old, the report has continued to hang over Chicago cattle futures.

“We can’t get the inventory report out of our heads showing supplies remain tight,” said Dan Basse, president of AgResource Company.

Hog futures ended little changed, though strong demand for pork and a tight hog herd provided a floor on prices.

CME April lean hogs LHJ26 settled 0.425 cent lower at 97.95 cents per pound.

The USDA priced choice boxed beef ticked $2.08 higher to $369.33 per hundredweight (cwt) as of Friday afternoon, and select boxed beef rose $4.16 to $364.53 per cwt.

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Corn and wheat ticked up with spillover support from soybeans, though a firmer dollar and easing weather concerns capped the cereal markets.

Soybeans rallied on Wednesday after Trump said China was “lifting the soybean count to 20 million tons for the current season,” suggesting China could buy 8 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans in 2025/26 on top of approximately 12 million tons already booked since the trade truce in late October.

“Honestly, it’s the only story right now,” said Jason Ward, managing director of Northstar Commodity.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Sv1 settled 20 cents higher at $11.12-1/4 a bushel.

The news surprised traders who have expected China to focus on buying cheaper Brazilian beans in the coming months as Brazil’s new crop comes onto the market.

Many traders are optimistic that China will fulfill its verbal commitment to purchase additional bushels, which in addition to demand from other countries and soy processing plants, would drastically change the U.S. soybean supply.

Some market players, however, have remained cautious given the potential strain on U.S. supply from the new export volume cited by Trump.

Such additional purchases may represent a political gesture by Beijing, despite higher costs, ahead of a planned visit by Trump to China in April, according to analysts.

CBOT wheat Wv1 closed 8-1/2 cents higher at $5.35-1/4 a bushel while corn Cv1 closed 5-1/2 cents higher at $5.35 per bushel.

Nearly all Russian crops were in normal condition as of February 5, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev was quoted as saying on Thursday.

Wheat traders have been monitoring severe cold in U.S., Russian and Ukrainian production belts, but snow cover is expected to limit potential crop losses.

-Additional reporting by Daphne Zhang and Lewis Jackson in Beijing, Gus Trompiz in Paris.

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However, bullish fundamentals, including a tight cattle supply and the ongoing closure of the southern border to Mexican cattle imports, will continue to add strong support to prices.

CME April live cattle LCJ26 finished 5.275 cents lower at 535.25 cents per pound, while March feeder cattle FCH26 finished 6 cents lower at 364.075 cents per pound.

Workers at a the Greeley JBS beef plant authorized a strike after the close of trade on Wednesday, though it is unclear whether a strike will actually take place.

“We have been bargaining for eight months and JBS has prevented us from reaching a contract as a result of their Unfair Labor Practices. They continue to increase chain speeds and create dangerous working conditions all while reducing hours for workers. At the same time, the company is insisting on being able to steal workers’ pay through improper wage deductions. JBS has left us no alternative but to authorize a strike. Enough is enough,” said Leticia Avalos, a JBS worker in a press release.

A strike at the plant would likely depress cash cattle prices, which would in turn weigh on futures.

“It would be moderately important, but it’s one plant. It wouldn’t take more than two or three bucks out of cash cattle at most. It’s something of a concern but we have some skepticism over how successful they will be,” said Rich Nelson, director of research at Allendale.

Hog futures ended little changed, though strong demand for pork and a tight hog herd provided a floor on prices.

CME April lean hogs LHJ26 settled 0.70 cent lower at 98.45 cents per pound.

The USDA priced choice boxed beef ticked 77 cents lower at $367.25 per hundredweight (cwt) as of Thursday afternoon, and select boxed beef fell $1.72 to $360.37 per cwt.

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In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said China is “lifting the Soybean count to 20 Million Tons for the current season (They have committed to 25 Million Tons for next season!”

By late January, China had purchased roughly 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, fulfilling a U.S.-stated pledge to purchase that volume by the end of February after a late-October trade truce spurred buying.

China, by far the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans, had exited the U.S. market during the prolonged tit-for-tat trade war between the two countries. Market players closely monitor China to watch for signs of fresh demand.

The most-active soybean contract Sv1settled 26-1/2 cents higher at $10.92-3/4 a bushel.

Soyoil futures continued a day-earlier rally supported by updated U.S. government guidance on tax credits for biofuel, a major source of demand for soyoil.

Soybean by-product soyoil BOv1 rose 1.17 cent to close at 55.66 cents per pound.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday released updated guidance on biofuel tax credits, a move welcomed by traders as giving clarity to biofuel producers.

CBOT corn Cv1 closed 1 cent higher at $4.29-1/2 per bushel amid a flurry of technical trading, while CBOT wheat Wv1 closed 2 cents lower at $5.26-3/4 per bushel.

Ample global supply continued to cap grain prices as traders started to look ahead to world crop forecasts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture next Tuesday for fresh direction.

The dollar rose on Wednesday, making U.S. crops more expensive internationally.

Easing concerns over crop winterkill in Ukraine and Russia following a prolonged period of severe cold in the Black Sea region has added pressure to the wheat market.

-Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Daphne Zhang and Lewis Jackson in Beijing

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