Posted on April, 8, 2025 at 08:45 am
Grains swung sharply as investors reacted to a flurry of headlines related to President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
U.S. officials took to television in attempts to reassure investors that the harsh tariff policies won’t derail the economy, even as experts warn growth will contract and inflation will spike higher. The White House quickly denied reporting that a 90-day tariff pause is under consideration, which caused volatility in the equities markets.
Most-active wheat futures climbed as much as 3.3%, the most in almost two months, before paring most of the increase. Soybeans pared a gain of as much as 1.7%. Both commodities plunged last week on fears of fading demand related to retaliatory tariffs. Corn fluctuated after rising as much as 1.6%.
The paring of gains accelerated after Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on China unless Beijing withdraws a 34% retaliatory duty on U.S. goods. Those duties were announced last week, risking a halt of U.S. shipments of soybeans to China. Beijing had already announced a 10% tariff on soybeans and other farm products from the U.S. last month in response to Trump’s initial protectionist measures.
Commodity trading advisers, which use trend-following algorithms, have become more bearish on soybeans, doubling their share of short positions to about 90% of the maximum, according to data from Bridgeton Research Group LLC. On wheat and soymeals, CTAs are as bearish as they can be.
U.S. weather concerns also supported wheat prices. Heavy flooding in soft red wheat areas, a freeze in hard red wheat plantings and a dry forecast for the US Plains over the next two weeks added to the list of recent crop stress events, The Hightower Report said.
Source: Farm Progress