Chicago soybean prices firmed on Friday in a bargain-buying bounce after a sharp fall on Thursday, as traders assessed prospects for more U.S. sales to China after the trade war truce between the countries.
China and India figured prominently in the September export data issued by the Canadian Grain Commission on Nov. 7. For the most part, the CGC’s numbers highlighted issues with grain, oilseed and pulse exports from licensed facilities to those countries.
China will suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, including duties on farm goods, after last week’s meeting of the two countries’ leaders, Beijing confirmed on Wednesday, but imports of U.S. soybeans still face a 13 per cent tariff.
China’s most active Zhengzhou rapeseed (canola) meal futures posted their largest daily gain in nearly three months on Monday, after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in South Korea last week without securing a breakthrough on tariffs.
Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to visit China after meeting with President Xi Jinping on Friday, in an encounter that may have marked a turning point but offered no breakthroughs on trade.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that China has agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of American soybeans during the current season through January and has committed to buying 25 million tons annually for the next three years as part of a larger trade agreement with Beijing.
Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday afternoon in South Korea, the prime minister’s office said on Thursday.
China’s state-owned COFCO bought three U.S. soybean cargoes, two trade sources said, the country’s first purchases from this year’s U.S. harvest, shortly before a summit of leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.