Top leaders from the U.S. and China are meeting in Washington to try and strike a deal and end the 18-month trade war.
Initial reports suggest that the two sides are finding some common ground, with the U.S. offering to reduce tariffs in exchange for China buying more U.S. agricultural products.
While this deal is expected to be limited and won’t resolve the conflict fully, the hope that China will return to be the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans lifted prices substantially.
Soybeans had already been rising ahead of the meeting after a U.S. Department of Agriculture report projected a smaller harvest this year and more demand than previously anticipated, and the news of Chinese buying shot prices to a fifteen-month high of $9.39 per bushel on Friday.
If the deal is limited in scope, there could be other challenges to the markets again in the future, but farmers should welcome the good news.
Alongside the soybean rally, corn prices neared $4.00 per bushel, a welcome relief for farmers preparing to harvest their corn crop, as prices were near $3.50 just a few weeks ago.