Soy Recovers After Hitting One-Week Lows

Soybean futures traded flat on Wednesday after dipping earlier in the session, as Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election raised concerns over potential new trade barriers with China, the top importer of U.S. soy.

Trump, who defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election, unsettled grain traders with promises of a 60% tariff on Chinese goods and at least a 10% levy on all other imports.

Such a move could prompt China to retaliate by reducing U.S. crop purchases, after already shifting more business to Brazil, the world’s largest soybean supplier, traders noted.

However, the initial drop in commodity prices, including soy futures, was seen as an overreaction to Trump’s victory, according to Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at brokerage StoneX.

Corn and wheat futures rose. The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) gained 1 cent to $10.0275 per bushel after hitting a one-week low of $9.82 earlier in the day.

Wheat increased by 1.5 cents to $5.74 per bushel, while corn climbed 6 cents to $4.245 per bushel, nearing a one-month high.

Soybean oil on the CBOT also jumped amid expectations that Trump might restrict imports of used Chinese cooking oil, which has displaced both soybean and canola oil in the U.S. market, Suderman added.

The USDA is scheduled to release its monthly supply and demand estimates on Friday.