China trade spat sparks sell-off in US soybean futures

US soybean futures plunged 1.5 percent to a one-year low on Friday on concerns that escalations in a trade fight with China would threaten shipments to the biggest buyer of the oilseed, traders said.

US President Donald Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of Chinese imports on Friday, starting on July 6. China said it plans to impose tariff measures of a similar size and intensity in its bid to fight back.

China has published a list of threatened tariffs on $50 billion in US goods, including soybeans, aircraft, and autos, and said it would hit back if Washington followed up with further measures.

"We've spent much of the last couple months expecting this to be saber-rattling and something that would be resolved far before actual action takes place," said Angie Setzer, vice-president of grain at Citizens LLC, a grain elevator in Michigan. "But here we are."

Soybean futures have fallen for eight of the previous nine sessions as the rhetoric between China and the United States has heated up. Prices for the November contract have shed more than $1 a bushel since the start of the month, threatening profitability on the crop that farmers will harvest this fall.

Reuters