Soybeans lead gains in U.S. grain futures on Trump's tariff turnaround

Seeking Alpha News (Wed, 09-Apr 5:37 PM)

U.S. agriculture futures rose across the board Wednesday after President Trump authorized a 90-day pause on certain tariffs to most countries, except for China, sparking grains to a rebound from losses in previous days.

Ag futures had been mixed before Trump's tariff turnaround, with some under pressure while others remained positive or neutral.

Earlier in the session, China had announced it would raise tariffs on American goods to 84%, pressuring commodities supported from Chinese buying.

Soybeans for May delivery (S_1:COM) settled +2% to $10.14 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, while May corn (C_1:COM) ended +1% to $4.73 1/2 per bushel and May wheat (W_1:COM) finished +0.4% to $5.42 1/4 per bushel.

ETFs: (SOYB), (CORN), (WEAT), (DBA), (MOO)

Farm and construction-equipment stocks posted strong gains after Trump's announcement, led by Agco (AGCO) +13.2%, CNH Industrial (CNHI) +12.5%, while Caterpillar (CAT) closed +9.9%, Deere (DE) +9.6% and Tractor Supply (TSCO+7%.

Grain processors and traders gained: Bunge (BG) +6.7%, Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) +6.2%.

China is set to receive ~3M metric tons of U.S. soybeans in April-May, according to shipping data, despite new higher tariffs on U.S. products.

Most of the cargoes were purchased by state stockpiler Sinograin, Reuters reported, which likely would pay the higher duties but may yet have to sell at a discount locally due to competition from cheaper beans from Brazil, the world's biggest grower.

China is the world's largest soybean importer and the U.S. is the second largest soybean grower, but their escalating trade war threatens to disrupt global flows of crops.