GRAINS-Soybeans fall for second session on US tariffs, corn down

By Naveen Thukral

SINGAPORE, March 10 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures lost more ground on Monday, while corn prices fell as trade tensions between the United States and its key trading partners, including China, weighed on the market.

Wheat rose on bargain-buying.

"The sentiment is agricultural markets is pretty bearish with U.S.-China trade tensions," said one trader in Singapore.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 fell 0.2% to $10.23-1/2 a bushel as of 0349, while corn Cv1 lost 0.2% to $4. 68 -1/4 a bushel. Wheat Wv1 gained 0.8% at $5.55-3/4 a bushel.

The ongoing saga with U.S. tariffs is taking centre stage in agricultural markets.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday railed against what he called tremendously high Canadian tariffs on dairy and lumber, and said his administration could soon impose reciprocal tariffs on Canadian products.

A day earlier, Trump had suspended the tariffs he imposed on most goods from Canada and Mexico. Mexico was the largest buyer of American corn and wheat in 2024 and the No. 2 destination for U.S. soybeans after China.

The U.S. is still in a trade war with top global soybean buyer China.

China bought 13.61 million metric tons of soybeans in January and February, up 4.4% from a year earlier, according to customs data issued on Friday.

As a result of the trade war, the premium paid for soybeans in Brazil in relation to futures contracts on the CBOT rose 70% last week.

At the port of Paranagua, the soybean export premium hit 85 cents per bushel for shipment in March, the highest since 2022, when considering the same month of shipment in the same period in previous years, according to the closely-watched Cepea indicator.

Market players await the U.S. Department of Agriculture's next monthly supply/demand report on March 11. The report will consider trade policies in place when the forecasts for grains and soybeans are issued, an agency official said on Thursday.

Large speculators cut their net long position in CBOT corn futures in the week to March 4, regulatory data released on Friday showed.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and soybeans.