Soybeans rise for first time in four days on short-covering

Soybean futures rose nearly two percent in American trade as the dollar index fell off November 11 highs, following earlier data from the US, the world's largest soybean producer and exporter. 

As of 08:58 GMT, soybean futures due on November 15 rose 1.64% to $9.1625 a bushel from the opening of $9.015, while the dollar index fell 0.35% to 94.53 from the opening of 94.86. 

Earlier US data showed the preliminary reading for the services PMI down to 56.5 in June from 56.8 in May, beating forecasts of 54.9, while the manufacturing PMI slipped to 54.6 from 56.4, missing forecasts of 56.3. 

 US Sales 

The US Department of Agriculture reported soybean sales fell 42% in the week ending June 14 from the previous week to 301.7 thousand tonnes, while up 48% from the four-week average, with the Netherlands at the top of the buyers list at 240.3 thousand tonnes, followed by Vietnam at 82.3 thousand, Saudi Arabia at 65.9 thousand. 

Last week, the US Department of Agriculture reported 818.4 thousand tonnes of inspected export-bound soybean product in the week ending June 14, up from 675.6 thousand in the previous week, and compared to 292.1 thousand in the same period of last year. 

US, China On Brink of Trade War 

Grain prices, soybeans on top of them, have taken a hit amid the rapidly intensifying US-China trade row, after President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 10% tax on $200 billion worth of Chinese products. 

China's trade ministry said Beijing will respond to any additional US tariffs, accusing Washington of instigating a trade war. 

Last weekend, President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Chinese imports worth $50 billion, accusing China anew of violating intellectual property rights and promising additional tariffs if China retaliated. 

In response, China imposed 25% tariffs on 659 US products, including cars and agricultural items, while imposing additional taxes on 545 products worth $34 billion starting July 6.