US Soybeans Jump on China Trade Hopes Amid Slow Harvest

Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher in their front months on Friday due to speculation that China will make new agricultural purchases. The White House is expected to announce on Monday the results of trade talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump.

The current slow pace of the US soybean harvest has led crushers to scramble for supplies by offering premiums, according to a report.

Corn futures were slightly higher on Friday in sympathy with soybeans, while wheat futures were lower due to an ongoing selloff. The seven-day weather forecast is holding steady at one to four inches of rain for most of the US Plains and two to four inches of rain stretching from the Texas Panhandle into Nebraska.

According to SovEcon, only 6.1 million acres of winter grains had been seeded by September 18, marking the slowest planting pace in 13 years due to an unusually wet autumn.