GRAINS-Soybeans resume rally as U.S. says China to buy millions of tons

BEIJING/PARIS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans turned higher on Thursday to hit a new 15-month high after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China had agreed to buy tens of millions of tons of American beans in the next few years as part of a trade truce.

The comments by Bessent, who specified that Beijing had agreed to purchasing 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans for the current season and committed to buying 25 million tons annually for the next three years, eased concerns about a lack of details in initial readouts following Thursday's meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

"To sum up, if both sides follow through, Chinese demand (for U.S. soybeans) in 2026/27 could return to 2023/24 levels," CM Navigator analyst Donatas Jankauskas said.

That would mark a turnaround after months in which China overlooked U.S. supplies amid its broader trade standoff with Washington.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was up 1.4% at $10.09-1/2 a bushel, by the end the overnight trading session, reversing an earlier fall.

It rose as high as $11.14-1/2, a level not seen since July 2024 and surpassing a previous 15-month peak this week.

The prospect of large Chinese purchases, after months of stalled soybean trade due to the wider trade war between Washington and Beijing, has spurred Chicago prices.

Ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea, China's state-owned COFCO bought three U.S. soybean cargoes this week, the country's first purchases of this year's U.S. harvest, two trade sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

CBOT corn Cv1 added 0.1% to $4.34-1/2 a bushel, after hitting its highest in almost four months. CBOT wheat Wv1 was down 0.8% at $5.28-1/4 a bushel after reaching a six-week peak.