FX.co ★ Soybeans Slide as China Retaliates with Tariffs

Soybean futures have dropped to under $9.80 per bushel, marking their lowest point since late December. This decline follows China's announcement of a 34% retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods, as a countermeasure to President Trump’s recent trade policies. These policies included a 10% baseline tariff on all U.S. imports and additional tariffs targeting key trading partners, with a particular 34% levy on Chinese products. Previously, China had placed tariffs on $21 billion of U.S. agricultural exports in reaction to earlier U.S. tariffs. On the production front, the USDA’s March Prospective Plantings report has projected a 4% reduction in U.S. soybean acreage this year, decreasing to 83.5 million acres, slightly below the market’s expectation of 83.8 million acres. Concurrently, soybean stocks as of March 1 have risen by 4% from last year, reaching 1.91 billion bushels, just above the anticipated estimate of 1.90 billion.