Soybeans rise as traders eye Trump-Xi talks; wheat, corn also higher

BEIJING: US soybean futures rose on Thursday, as traders assessed progress in Chinese purchases of US supplies and looked ahead to a meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.74% at $13.30-1/4 a bushel, as of 0504 GMT, hovering near its highest level in almost three years. China has now passed the halfway mark toward its commitment to buy 25 million metric tons of US soybeans, agreed during the Busan summit last October. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that he planned to meet his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng this weekend, ahead of the leaders’ meeting next week. Corn rose 0.19% to $5.35-1/4 a bushel. Rain in parts of the upper Midwest has delayed harvesting, lending some support to soybean and corn prices, according to two Chinese analysts. Wheat added 0.27% to $7.32-3/4 a bushel, supported in part by expectations of a smaller Canadian crop. Canadian farmers will produce 11% less wheat and about the same amount of canola as they did last year, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday in its first crop production report of 2026. Jordan’s state grain buyer has issued an intern