BEIJING: Chicago soybeans edged higher on Thursday, supported by concerns that unfavourable weather in South America could impact production, though reports of China halting soybean shipments from five Brazilian firms capped further gains.

Corn and wheat eased on technical correction, and as investors assessed U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to impose tariffs on several trading partners including China and Canada.

 

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.36% at $4.82 a bushel, as of 0144 GMT.

* CBOT soybeans nudged 0.12% higher to $10.57 a bushel. In the previous session, the contract slumped after touching its highest point since July 2024.

* Wheat fell 0.14% to $5.53-2/8 a bushel.

* China, the world's biggest soybean buyer, has stopped receiving Brazilian soybean shipments from five firms after cargoes did not meet plant health requirements, according to a statement from the Brazilian government, confirming what Reuters had learned from two sources on Wednesday.

* Trump on Tuesday vowed to hit the European Union with tariffs and said his administration was discussing a 10% punitive duty on Chinese imports because fentanyl is being sent from China to the U.S. via Mexico and Canada.

* Corn and soybean prices had already been rallying due to a drought in Argentina and writedowns of 2024 U.S. corn and soybean production.

* Algerian state agency ONAB has issued new international tenders to purchase up to 240,000 metric tons of animal feed corn and 70,000 tons of soymeal, European traders said on Wednesday.

* Five trading companies are believed to be taking part so far in the international tender from Jordan's state grains buyer to purchase up to 120,000 metric tons of animal feed barley, according to traders.

* Leading South Korean animal feed maker Nonghyup Feed Inc. (NOFI) bought an estimated 136,000 metric tons of animal feed corn and 65,000 metric tons of animal feed wheat in an international tender on Wednesday, European traders said.

* A group of importers in Thailand has issued an international tender to purchase an estimated 195,000 metric tons of animal feed wheat, European traders said on Wednesday.

* Commodity funds were net sellers of Chicago Board of Trade corn, soybean, soyoil and wheat futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said, and net buyers of soymeal futures contracts.

 

MARKETS NEWS

* Global shares rose on Wednesday, powered by a rise in technology stocks after Trump announced mammoth spending plans for artificial intelligence infrastructure, while the dollar sagged to a two-week low as tariffs were delayed.

 

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)