Chinese Buyers Purchase 8 to 10 Cargoes of U.S. Soybeans, the First Deals Since the September Trump-Xi Summit
Chinese state buyers have purchased eight to ten Panamax cargoes of U.S. soybeans this week, the first such deals since the September summit in Washington between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, three trade sources told Reuters on October 14.
Each cargo carries around 65,000 metric tons, putting the total at roughly 520,000 to 650,000 tons, for shipment from December onward. One trader said the state-owned buying firms paid premiums of $3.10 to $3.20 per bushel over the January Chicago Board of Trade soybean contract.
The market had been awaiting signs of renewed Chinese buying after a weeks-long hiatus, partly because of weak demand during the country's week-long National Day holiday earlier this month. After the September summit, China and the United States announced a proposed list of tariff reductions that excluded soybeans, dampening expectations that private crushers would return to the market for additional supplies.
Before the latest deals, China had bought about 13.7 million tons of U.S. soybeans, already more than halfway toward its 25 million-ton purchase target for the 2026/27 marketing year announced by the White House. Separately, state stockpiler Sinograin on Tuesday sold 40.5% of the 518,000 tons of imported soybeans it offered at auction, and traders expect further auctions in the coming weeks. China's soybean imports in September totaled 11.88 million tons, down 7.7% from a year earlier, according to customs data.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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