The price of soybeans rises on renewed hopes of a US-China deal

U.S. soybean futures rose slightly on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed confidence to strike a trade deal, including one on agricultural imports, with his Chinese counterpart when they meet in South Korea next week. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday that he would discuss with Chinese President Xi Jinping the issues of Russian oil, the resumption of soybean imports and rare earth exports, adding: “We will make a deal, I think, on everything.” Also read: Trump puts rare earth metals, fentanyl and soybeans at the top of his demands from China. Soybean contracts for January delivery rose as much as 0.3%, posting gains for the second day in a row, to settle slightly below the highest level in two months. However, the pace of the rise has been limited in the current period, due to caution among traders over the uncertainty surrounding the results of the meeting, and whether it will be held at all, according to Chris Nicolaou, general manager at Advantage Grain. He added, “Trump indicated this week that the meeting might not be held. I think that has curbed the rally and had a negative impact on morale.”