Soybeans, corn set for weekly losses on trade war disruptions

SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean and corn futures inched lower on Friday, with both commodities on track for weekly losses, as concerns over trade conflicts disrupting trade flows and abundant South American supplies weighed on prices.

Wheat eased, but the market is set for a weekly gain amid expectations of lower exports from Russia.

“The supply side for soybeans in pretty bearish,” said one grains trader in Singapore.

“We have big crops in South America and the trade war is going to hit demand for US agriculture if tariffs remain in place.”

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) slid 0.2% at $10.08-1/2 a bushel, as of 0240 GMT, and corn gave up nearly 1% to $4.60-3/4 a bushel.

Wheat shed 0.3% to $5.60-3/4 a bushel.

Grain markets faced pressure this week following the implementation of revised US tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, which prompted the European Union and Canada to announce retaliatory duties on a range of US goods.

The EU package, which could see the bloc reintroduce a 25% duty on US corn and potentially add a tariff on US soybeans, added to concerns about disruption to US exports caused by US President Donald Trump’s tariff offensive.

For the week, soybeans and corn have lost close to 2%, while wheat has gained 1.8%.

There is likely to be support for soybeans and corn markets, given the lower estimates for output in key supplier Argentina.

Argentina’s 2024/25 soybean crop is now estimated at 46.5 million metric tons, down from the 47.5 million tons previously expected, according to a forecast from the Rosario Grains Exchange on Wednesday.

Wheat up 5-7 cents a bushel, corn up 3-5 cents, soy up 10-12 cents

The exchange also lowered its outlook for the 2024/25 corn harvest to 44.5 million tons, from a prior 46 million tons.

Russia’s IKAR consultancy said on Thursday that it had cut its baseline 2024/25 wheat export forecast to around 41 million tons from 42.5 million tons.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, wheat, soymeal and soybean futures contracts on Thursday, traders said. Funds were net sellers of soyoil futures, traders said.