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Chicago crop futures suffer weekly losses while U.S. farmers urge trade disputes settlement

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural futures ended this past trading week with sharp losses, and U.S. farmers are calling for permanent solutions to trade disputes instead of only assistance payments from Washington.

The most active corn contract for December delivery was down 6 cents, or 1.59 percent, during the trading that ended on November 15, to close at 3.7125 dollars per bushel. December wheat was down 7.5 cents, or 1.47 percent, to settle at 5.0275 dollars per bushel. January soybeans were down 12.75 cents, or 1.37 percent, to close at 9.1825 dollars per bushel.

Soybeans fell sharply on Monday as traders locked in profits amid massive selling. The oil seed futures gained after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed on Thursday new export sales of 129,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China during the 2019/20 marketing year.

The fresh sales to the world’s top soybean buyer led to some recovery of CBOT soybean prices, as market participants eagerly sought confirmation of any progress in the U.S.-China trade talks.

U.S. farmers have a tough 2019 as a result of prolonged trade disputes between the two economic giants, in addition to already low commodity prices, chronic oversupply, and unpredictable weather in recent years.

“But on top of all that, for the last year and a half, they (farmers) have had to deal with the added uncertainty and unstable markets generated by President Trump’s trade war against the rest of the world,” said Roger Johnson, president of the U.S. National Farmers Union (NFU), on Friday.

The USDA announced this week plans to issue the second of tranches of so-called Market Facilitation Program payments in 2019, to farmers and ranchers affected by countermeasures from other countries targeting U.S. agricultural products.

However, NFU chief Johnson argued that U.S. farmers “need more permanent solutions than this current plan can provide.”

“Even if and when these trade disputes are resolved, farmers will still be coping with the fallout for years to come,” he warned in a statement.

As for CBOT wheat, unsatisfactory weekly export sales dragged down the grain futures.

Based on reports from exporters for the period of November 1-7, the USDA confirmed on Friday net wheat sales of 238,600 metric tons for 2019/20 marketing year, down 34 percent from the previous week and 37 percent from the prior four-week average.

CBOT corn futures this week found some support on news that China lifted restrictions on the imports of poultry products from the United States.

China banned U.S. poultry and related products following some avian influenza outbreaks in the United States in 2013 and 2014.

But the latest development failed to lift CBOT corn prices significantly, though it could potentially push up U.S. feed demand.

“A U.S.-China (trade) deal is the only fundamental that can rally corn,” AgResource, a Chicago-based agricultural research firm, wrote in a weekly review.
Source: Xinhua

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