SINGAPORE: Chicago corn futures rose on Monday for a fourth straight session, as the suspension of U.S. tariffs on top importer Mexico eased worries over trade disruptions.

Soybeans and wheat edged higher.

 

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) climbed 0.1% to $4.69-3/4 a bushel by 0116 GMT. Soybeans added 0.3% to $10.28-1/2 a bushel and wheat gained 1.1% to $5.57-1/4 a bushel.

* The ongoing saga with U.S. tariffs is taking centre stage in agricultural markets.

* U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday railed against what he called tremendously high Canadian tariffs on dairy and lumber, and said his administration could soon impose reciprocal tariffs on Canadian products.

* A day earlier, Trump suspended the tariffs he imposed on most goods from Canada and Mexico. Mexico was the largest buyer of American corn and wheat in 2024 and the No. 2 destination for U.S. soybeans after China.

* However, the U.S. is still in a trade war with top global soy buyer China.

* China bought 13.61 million metric tons of soybeans in January and February, up 4.4% from the year-earlier period, according to customs data issued on Friday.

* As a result of the trade war, the premium paid for soybeans in Brazil in relation to futures contracts on the CBOT rose 70% this week.

* At the port of Paranagua, the soybean export premium hit 85 cents per bushel for shipment in March, the highest value since 2022, when considering the same month of shipment in the same period in previous years, according to the closely watched Cepea indicator.

* Market players await the U.S. Department of Agriculture's next monthly supply/demand report on March 11. The report will consider trade policies in place when the forecasts for grains and soybeans are issued, an agency official said on Thursday.

* Large speculators cut their net long position in CBOT corn futures in the week to March 4, regulatory data released on Friday showed.

* The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and soybeans.

 

MARKET NEWS

* Wall Street futures sank and the safe-haven yen strengthened early on Monday as building deflationary pressures in China added to growth worries from a fading U.S. economy and a simmering global trade war.

 

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 Germany Industrial Output MM, Industrial Production YY SA MM Jan (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)