Chicago | Reuters—Chicago soybeans fell down after multiple days of advances on Friday as many traders exited the market on positioning and news that China was denying claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that the two countries are in tariff talks.
Corn was mixed on spread trading and wheat was near flat as rains brought moisture to major production zones.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Sv1 settled down 2-3/4 cents at $10.59-1/4 a bushel after earlier touching its highest point since February 5.
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News that China has exempted some U.S. goods from its tariffs allowed some hope for a de-escalation in trade tensions. But China’s denial of Trump’s assertion that the United States is currently in talks with the world’s largest soybean importer weighed on the market.
China exempted some U.S. imports from its 125 per cent tariffs and is asking firms to identify critical goods they need levy-free, according to businesses notified.
Trump said in an interview with Time magazine published on Friday that Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had called him and that their governments were in active trade talks.
But the Chinese Embassy in Washington wrote on social media that, “China and the U.S. are NOT having any consultation or negotiation on #tariffs. The U.S. should stop creating confusion.”
All of this has prompted some traders to exit the market as they position ahead of the weekend, said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting.
“A lot of traders are just throwing up their hands and saying, ‘Look, we just want out of the market,'” Setzer said.
In corn, Setzer said spread trading was giving support to nearby contracts and pressuring the deferred contracts.
Meanwhile wheat futures were pressured by rain that has brought relief to crops in dry parts of the U.S. Plains, northern Europe and southern Russia, according to forecaster Vaisala.
CBOT wheat Wv1 ended up 1/2 cent at $5.45 a bushel, and CBOT corn Cv1 rose 1-1/2 cents to finish at $4.85-1/2 a bushel.
—Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore
