GRAINS-Chicago soybeans fall as Trump-Xi meeting delay dampens continued Chinese demand hopes

BEIJING, March 18 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures fell on Wednesday as a delay in a meeting between U.S President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping dampened hopes for continued Chinese demand for U.S. soybeans.

Wheat and corn also dropped.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 fell 0.4% to $11.52-1/2 a bushel by 0250 GMT.

CBOT wheat Wv1 dropped 0.1% to $5.89 a bushel. Corn Cv1 fell 0.1 at $4.53-3/4 a bushel.

Trump on Tuesday said he was postponing a highly anticipated trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the war with Iran upends U.S. foreign policy and delays an effort to ease tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.

Trump had been set to travel to Beijing from March 31-April 2 for the first trip there of his 14-month-old second term. The trip will now take place in about five or six weeks, Trump said.

The U.S. president told the Financial Times in an interview on Sunday that he could delay his summit with Xi as he presses Beijing to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

Soybeans fell by their 70-cent daily trading limit on Monday as news that Trump might delay a planned visit to China dampened expectations of further Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans.

*In South America, Brazilian Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said that the government will negotiate soybean inspection and safety requirements for shipments of the crop to China, following complaints from Beijing.

*Favaro confirmed that Brazil had received complaints from Chinese buyers and authorities after some cargoes showed the presence of weed seeds, and that it intensified inspections when the complaints persisted.

MARKETS

DATA/EVENTS

1000 EU HCIP Final MM, YY Feb

1230 US PPI Machine Manuf'ing Feb

1400 US Factory Orders MM Jan