Chicago | Reuters—Chicago Board of Trade corn futures hit a fresh one-year high on Tuesday, as the tariffs promised by newly sworn-in U.S. President Donald Trump did not materialize, traders said.
Soybean futures rallied to prices not seen since September, on the lack of tariff news, concerns about weather in South America and as Brazil’s sluggish harvest pace supported both soy and corn markets.
The most-active CBOT corn contract Cv1 settled the day up 5-3/4 cents at $4.90 per bushel, after earlier in the session hitting its highest point since Dec. 8, 2023.
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CBOT wheat futures Wv1 followed corn higher, settling up 20 cents at $5.58-3/4 a bushel – after earlier hitting the highest price since Dec. 12. And soybean futures Sv1 ended up 33-1/4 cents at $10.67-1/4 a bushel, after earlier touching the highest price since Sept. 30.
A rebound in Brazil’s soybean basis, as the harvest of its new crop inventory remains historically low, also gave soy futures a boost, said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting.
But traders said much of Tuesday’s rally in soy and grains was because Trump did not immediately impose tariffs on imports from multiple countries after taking office on Monday, although he said he was considering imposing 25 per cent duties on imports from Canada and Mexico as of Feb. 1.
Meanwhile, showers in Argentina failed to alleviate concerns that the ongoing drought could further harm crop yields, said Michael Cordonnier, owner of Soybean and Corn Advisor.
“Argentina has gotten some rain, but they need a lot more,” he said.
Cordonnier said Brazil is experiencing the opposite problem, as excessive rains in top grain-producing state Mato Grosso have resulted in the slowest soybean harvest pace in years.
Weather-related soybean crop quality issues could also become a problem in the coming weeks if the rainfall in Brazil continues, Cordonnier said. That, in turn, could affect Chinese demand for South American soy, market analysts said.
—Additional reporting by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago
