US soybeans fall over China demand concerns

CHICAGO - Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures settled sharply lower on Tuesday over China demand concerns and a stronger dollar.

CBOT soybeans traded higher overnight but reversed the uptrend during the morning session due to concerns over China's demand for US soybeans and technical selling.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has not updated its exports sales data due to the partial government shutdown starting on Dec 22, 2018. But the available export inspections report released on Monday indicated that all overseas sales of corn, wheat and soybeans jumped in the seven days that ended on Jan 10.

However, the support did not last long as soybeans turned lower over worries on China demand, said market watchers.

Optimism over the US-China trade talks and worries on possibly declining demand from the world's top oil seed importer led to fluctuation of CBOT soybean prices.

A strengthening dollar, which could make US commodities less competitive, added more pressure on CBOT futures.

At the end of the session, CBOT March soybeans were down 10.25 cents, or 1.13 percent to settle at 8.9325 dollars per bushel, the first time in 2019 to close below the 9 dollar level.

March corn was down 7.25 cents, or 1.92 percent to settle at 3.7125 dollars per bushel. March wheat was down 3.25 cents, or 0.63 percent to close at 5.11 dollars.