Chicago soybeans edge lower after notching 3-year high on China demand

Business Recorder reported that Chicago soybean futures eased on Friday, with the most-traded contract shedding 0.7% to $13.23-1/4 a bushel by 0255 GMT. The softer tone followed a session in which prices reached their highest levels of the contract's life, lifted by Chinese purchases ahead of a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Wheat and corn also moved lower, with CBOT wheat down 0.9% at $7.35-1/4 a bushel and corn off 0.8% at $5.29-1/4. Over the current week, soybeans are still up 1%, whereas wheat has added 0.2% and corn has slipped 1.4%.

Traders cited by Reuters said Chinese buyers have taken roughly 1 million metric tons of American soybeans this week, as Beijing moves ahead of Xi Jinping's Washington trip, due later this month. Those purchases bring China's total US soybean buying to close to half of the annual 25 million ton commitment that the White House says Beijing made through 2028. Official USDA figures also confirmed more Chinese purchases on Wednesday and Thursday.