Corn, wheat, and soybean futures were mostly higher on Wednesday, bouncing on ideas that US tariffs levied a day earlier might be clawed back.
Crop futures fell heavily on Tuesday when the tariffs were announced, with stock markets also posting sharp losses. However, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said later that day that US President Donald Trump might be willing to compromise. Trump reportedly agreed to a 1-month delay on auto tariffs today.
Trump hit US imports of most goods from Mexico and Canada with a 25% tariff on Tuesday and doubled duties on Chinese goods to 20%. Both Canada and China announced immediate retaliatory measures, with trade action from Mexico expected to be announced over the weekend.
Bargain buying, after both corn and soybeans fell to multi-month lows yesterday, also helped to boost markets.
May corn gained 4 ¼ cents to $4.55 ¾, and December was steady at $4.46 ¾. May soybeans climbed 12 ¾ cents to $10.11 ¾, and November was up 6 cents at $10.09 ½.
Wheat was buoyed by the strength in corn and soybeans, along with losses in the American dollar. Russia’s chief meteorologist said that country’s winter crops have come out of dormancy in better condition than the beginning of the winter, but lack of precipitation could have an impact. May Chicago added 11 ½ cents to $5.48 ¼, May Kansas City was up 8 ½ cents at $5.57, and May Minneapolis closed 8 cents higher at $5.88.
