Chicago soybeans edged higher on Thursday as the ending of an Argentine export tax waiver helped prices edge away from a six-week low fuelled by a flurry of Chinese purchases of Argentine crop.

Corn rose on reports of smaller-than-expected U.S. yields, while wheat ticked higher as it recovered from contract lows.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.6% at $10.15-1/2 a bushel by 1214 GMT, moving away from Tuesday’s six-week low of $10.05.

Argentina has re-applied temporarily suspended export taxes after reaching a sales cap of $7 billion, Argentina’s ARCA fiscal agency said on Wednesday.

Chinese importers rushed in to make Argentine soybean purchases during the tax suspension, reinforcing China’s shift towards South American soybeans as it shuns the U.S. crop amid a wider trade dispute with Washington.

“This will keep prices under pressure, but the downside is limited from current levels,” an agricultural broker in Australia said of U.S. soybeans.

The market will get an update on demand from weekly U.S. export sales data later on Thursday.

The advancing U.S. soybean and corn harvests have also created some supply pressure, though increasing doubts over the size of corn yields has lent some support to the cereal market.

CBOT corn was up 0.8% at $4.27-1/2 a bushel and wheat added 1.2% to $5.25-3/4 a bushel.

Wheat has drawn support from an uptick in international demand, renewed concern about escalation in the Ukraine-Russia war, and dry planting conditions in the Black Sea region.
Source: Reuters