Soybean futures gained on Thursday in the wake of a phone call between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Corn and wheat also ended higher.
Reports said Trump and Xi spoke for about 90 minutes this morning, with Trump describing the conversation as positive and almost entirely focused on trade. China is the No.1 buyer of American soybeans. The call offset a mostly disappointing weekly export sales report for soybeans. The report showed bookings of old- and new-crop beans for the week ended May 29 at the low end of trade expectations at 194,345 and 3,544 tonnes, respectively.
Wheat closed higher for the second say, drawing support from the intensifying conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The weekly export sales report showed net reductions of just over 49,0000 tonnes in the last full week of the 2024-25 crop year. New-crop sales of 444,857 tonnes were in the lower end of expectations. July Chicago wheat gained 2 ¼ cents to $5.45 ½, July Kansas City was up 2 cents at $5.42 ½, and July Minneapolis inched 1 ¾ cents higher to $6.25 ¼.
Corn managed small gains amid a mostly neutral export sales report. Old-crop bookings for the week ended May 29 were in the middle of trade ideas at 942,276 tonnes, while new-crop bookings were also in the middle at 160,116 tonnes. Longer-term weather was supportive for corn, with warmer and drier Midwest conditions expected for mid-June. July corn was up ¾ of a cent at $4.39 ½, and December climbed 4 ½ cents to $4.48 ¼.
