PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat futures eased on Thursday as the market took a breather after its biggest one-day rally in a month, with grain markets looking ahead to weekly US export figures for a fresh indication of demand.
Corn and soybeans also edged lower after rising sharply on Wednesday, with large global inventories and a favorable outlook for South America crops capping gains.
The Chicago Board of Trade’s most-active wheat contract gave up 0.7 percent to $4.30-1/2 a bushel by 1125 GMT after Wednesday’s 3 percent rise, the biggest since Dec. 27. Soybeans fell by 0.3 percent to $10.34 a bushel and corn lost 0.3 percent to $3.67 a bushel.
“Cereals found support with the buying stance from funds on both wheat and corn and the decline of the dollar,” consultancy Agritel said in a note. Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, wheat and soybean futures on Wednesday.
Estimates of net fund buying in corn ranged from 8,000 to 20,000 contracts, in wheat from 4,000 to 14,000 and in soybeans from 4,000 to 10,000. However, ample global supply and worries about potential trade disputes between the new US government and major export clients such as Mexico have tempered price sentiment.
Grain markets will receive another indication of demand from weekly US export sales data due at 1330 GMT. Signs of export demand helped soybeans to rally on Wednesday, suggesting a recent fallback in prices had stirred interest.
For wheat, analysts were playing down the likely impact of winter weather on northern hemisphere crops.
“Four years of surpluses still exert pressure on wheat prices. And all the signs have so far pointed to another high global wheat harvest in 2017/18,” Commerzbank analysts said in a note. Soybeans, which climbed to a six-month high last month, are coming under pressure as weather improves in Argentina, while harvesting in Brazil is on track for a record crop of more than 100 million tons.
Wheat dips after fund-buying rally; corn and soy also lower
Wheat dips after fund-buying rally; corn and soy also lower
Saudi Arabia, Japan trade rises 38% between 2016 and 2024, minister says
RIYADH: Trade between Saudi Arabia and Japan has increased by 38 percent between 2016 and 2024 to reach SR138 billion ($36 billion), the Kingdom’s investment minister revealed.
Speaking at the Saudi-Japanese Ministerial Investment Forum 2026, Khalid Al-Falih explained that this makes the Asian country the Kingdom’s third-largest trading partner, according to Asharq Bloomberg.
This falls in line with the fact that Saudi Arabia has been a very important country for Japan from the viewpoint of its energy security, having been a stable supplier of crude oil for many years.
It also aligns well with how Japan is fully committed to supporting Vision 2030 by sharing its knowledge and advanced technologies.
“This trade is dominated by the Kingdom's exports of energy products, specifically oil, gas, and their derivatives. We certainly look forward to the Saudi private sector increasing trade with Japan, particularly in high-tech Japanese products,” Al-Falih said.
He added: “As for investment, Japanese investment in the Kingdom is good and strong, but we look forward to raising the level of Japanese investments in the Kingdom. Today, the Kingdom offers promising opportunities for Japanese companies in several fields, including the traditional sector that links the two economies: energy.”
The minister went on to note that additional sectors that both countries can also collaborate in include green and blue hydrogen, investments in advanced industries, health, food security, innovation, entrepreneurship, among others.
During his speech, Al-Falih shed light on how the Kingdom’s pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka achieved remarkable success, with the exhibition receiving more than 3 million visitors, reflecting the Japanese public’s interest in Saudi Arabia.
“The pavilion also organized approximately 700 new business events, several each day, including 88 major investment events led by the Ministry of Investment. Today, as we prepare for the upcoming Expo 2030, we look forward to building upon Japan’s achievements,” he said.
The minister added: “During our visit to Japan, we agreed to establish a partnership to transfer the remarkable Japanese experience from Expo Osaka 2025 to Expo Riyadh 2030. I am certain that the Japanese pavilion at Expo Riyadh will rival the Saudi pavilion at Expo Osaka in terms of organization, innovation, and visitor turnout.”
Al-Falih also shed light on how Saudi-Japanese relations celebrated their 70th anniversary last year, and today marks the 71st year of these relations as well as how they have flourished over the decades, moving from one strategic level to an even higher one.
