SINGAPORE: Chicago corn and soybean futures slid on Friday, giving up gains made in the last two sessions, although the suspension of U.S. tariffs on Mexico and Canada limited the downside in prices.

Wheat edged lower with additional pressure from expectations of a bumper harvest in top consumer China.

 

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell 0.1% to $10.26-3/4 a bushel as of 0148 GMT and corn lost 0.1% to $4.63-3/4 a bushel. Wheat gave up 0.5% to $5.51-1/4 a bushel.

* U.S. President Donald Trump suspended on Thursday the tariffs he imposed this week on most goods from Canada and Mexico, the latest twist in a fluctuating trade policy.

* Trump had imposed 25% U.S. tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada on Tuesday along with fresh duties on Chinese goods, fuelling worries that an expanding trade war would threaten demand for U.S. products.

* Mexico was the largest buyer of American corn and wheat in 2024 and the No. 2 destination for U.S. soybeans after China, and the tariff threats raised fears of trade disruptions, sending grain futures tumbling earlier this week.

* For the week, CBOT corn slipped 1.2%, falling for the second week in a row. Soybeans gained 0.1% and wheat eased 0.8%.

* Market players are awaiting the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) next monthly supply/demand report due 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, as Trump suspended the tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

* China is expecting to produce an abundant wheat harvest this year, a COFCO International executive said, with rising domestic supplies likely to reduce the need for imports.

* Commodity funds net bought CBOT corn, soybean, soymeal, wheat and soyoil futures contracts on Thursday, traders said.

 

MARKET NEWS

* Stock indexes fell sharply and the dollar eased on Thursday, with the Nasdaq confirming it has been in a correction since peaking last December, as more announcements from U.S. President Donald Trump on tariffs fuelled investor uncertainty.

 

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 Germany Industrial Orders MM, Manufacturing O/P Cur Price SA, Consumer Goods SA Jan 0700 UK Halifax House Prices MM YY Feb 0745 France Reserve Assets Total Feb 1000 EU GDP Revised QQ, GDP Revised YY Q4 1330 US Non-Farm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate, Average Earnings YY Feb (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sumana Nandy)